Marketing In The Age Of AI: Are You Ready?

Reference: Found here

Matthew Lieberman is the CMO at PwC U.S. and an innovative executive at the crossroads of marketing, media and technology.

As a CMO, I see all the time—and the data backs me up—that some marketers are ready for the age of AI while many are not. This lack of preparedness could soon affect marketers' organizations, their teams and their own careers. But it's not too late. With the right moves on AI, you can work to increase the value you and your team can deliver.

In PwC's October 2024 Pulse Survey of C-level executives, more than half of CMOs (58%) said they're planning to invest in generative AI (GenAI) in the next 12 to 18 months. More than three-quarters (78%) agreed they'll use it to make changes to their business model.

That's all great, and maybe you're one of those CMOs. But let me ask you, honestly: Are you just using AI to make current processes a little better? Or are you considering how your job will change if AI makes your company's current business model irrelevant? When you consider AI's risks, are you just thinking about getting high-quality outputs for marketing? Or are you also preparing for how AI anywhere in your company could lead to IP infringement, bias or other results that could damage the brand (which is your responsibility)?

But AI will disrupt business models and transform marketing. In a few years, your company might not offer the same products or services your current campaigns support. Your customers may be using AI to make it on their own. Maybe you'll have to safeguard your brand after a poorly governed AI model causes an embarrassing error. You'll almost certainly need to use AI to reach customers in new, more effective ways.

AI is driving efficiency gains that are reshaping what you as a marketer can do and what your company or customers will ask of you. Have you long sought hyper-personalized marketing? Thanks to AI, it's already possible. Soon, stakeholders will likely demand it.