If you asked whether technology could replace marketing a few decades ago, most would look at you like you hit your head on concrete. Now, it\u2019s no more a question but an issue that\u2019s sparking industry-wide debate.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n And we owe this specifically to the generative AI surge<\/a> \u2014 which has more implications for the creative sector than many others.<\/p>\n But the question is, will AI replace marketers or make us better?<\/em> And what about SEO<\/a>? Will Googling be replaced with AI chatbots \u2014 and what does all that mean for content creation?<\/p>\n To answer these questions, I spoke with Samyutha Reddy<\/a>, Jasper\u2019s<\/a> former Head of Enterprise Marketing, to explore her perspectives on what the future holds for AI in marketing and organic search.<\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n How do marketers use AI?<\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\n First, let\u2019s consider how generative AI is even used in marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Marketers surveyed in our 2024 State of AI in Marketing revealed the major tasks they use AI for. Top on that list are content creation, research, brainstorming, learning, and data analysis.<\/p>\n These tools are offering marketers the ability to generate content more quickly, analyze vast amounts of data with greater accuracy, and even come up with creative ideas through AI-powered brainstorming sessions. All leading to significantly positive ROI for their efforts.<\/p>\n Still, 48% of marketers in our survey are concerned about AI replacing their jobs in the next few years while a whopping 69% believes it\u2019s a possibility that AI completely replaces human beings in the workplace one day.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s why Reddy and I think that may not happen.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Generative AI can research any topic online and create original content, formatted as a blog post, email, ad, or more, based on the query \u2014 and in record time. In the future, rather than needing a team of five or ten content creators, will you just need one \u2014 someone to fact-check the AI’s content?<\/p>\n Fortunately, Reddy isn’t worried. In fact, even though her team used generative AI on a daily basis, she was still actively hiring and growing her team.<\/p>\n\n As she puts it, \u201cAI augments the human experience, but it doesn’t replace the human within that experience. We value writers in our society because they’re able to give us a thought-provoking human perspective on the world.<\/p>\n It isn’t just about summarizing facts that are out there. It’s about humans sharing opinions on very real topics that help build your perspective on how you feel about something. So an AI [tool] could really never replace that human perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n Because generative AI is still early in its development, it is prone to potential biases and inaccuracies it cannot discern in the information it gathers. These biases can lead to skewed outputs that may not align with reality, making it essential to maintain human oversight in the process.<\/p>\n Reddy highlights this issue, stating, \u201cAI has biases deeply embedded within its models that people are working on. AI has the tendency to hallucinate and start talking about random things when you’re asking it for outputs, so it would be really tough to just completely remove a human from the process.\u201d<\/p>\n This tendency of AI to \u201challucinate\u201d or produce irrelevant and sometimes nonsensical content underscores the importance of human intervention to ensure accuracy and relevance.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Instead of viewing this technology as a threat, Reddy suggests marketers do this instead:<\/p>\n \u201cI think the angle you take matters on this whole generative AI front. If you\u2019re a writer, content creator, or a marketer, you\u2019ll want to ask yourself:<\/p>\n \u2018Am I going to be someone that embraces technology and figures out how to upskill myself and actually become the cream of the crop in terms of talent? Or am I going to be someone who pushes technology away, refuses to believe it’s happening, and clings onto an old way of life?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Although AI will not take your job, you must not underestimate its impact on your role as a marketer. Here\u2019s how Reddy suggests you stay on top of this innovation.<\/p>\n As aspects of content creation become more automated, Reddy acknowledges that AI will force content creators to reskill. She told me, \u201cI think it’ll force content creators to re-skill. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that’s what every big shift in technology has done for humans.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds, \u201cI’ve never met a content creator who has said, \u2018Wait. I really want to spend more time doing all the rote tasks of reading everything I need to know on the internet about a given topic.\u2019 <\/em>AI will give marketers more time to be creative, form an opinion, and incorporate more data sources into their perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than thinking of AI as a content creator replacement, it\u2018s better to think of AI as a marketer\u2019s efficient side-kick.<\/p>\n\n Image Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Consider this: A marketer decides she wants to write a topic about SWOT analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rather than spending her morning chugging coffee and reading up on what SWOT analysis means, effective SWOT analysis examples, and how SWOT analyses can help businesses grow, she can simply plug the query into an AI chatbot.<\/p>\n Once she\u2019s confirmed the sources the chatbot used to pull that information are accurate, she can quickly skim through the AI’s response and learn everything she needs to begin writing about the topic. She can even use the AI\u2019s response as a first draft, and strengthen it with her own unique tone and perspective.<\/p>\n From there, she can leverage the AI\u2019s proofreading skills to edit her final copy.<\/p>\n Additionally, if the marketer has written a piece of content that she’d like to turn into an entire campaign, she can use AI to re-format her blog post into corresponding ad copy, which she can then hand over to her sales and paid ad teams.<\/p>\n As Reddy puts it, \u201cI can effectively hand over to sales an entire drip campaign, an entire outbound sequence, complete with landing pages, with the ads that people will click and see.<\/p>\n And it really allows me to take control back on what it means to execute a campaign. It enables me to truly be a project manager and a strategist, versus someone who is waiting on other people to deliver their end of the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n 57% of our surveyed marketers also confess to feeling pressured to learn new skills so AI won\u2019t make them irrelevant \u2014 so this checks out.<\/p>\n Freelancing platform Upwork recently added a new category<\/a>, \u2018Generative AI\u2019, as a specialty within their marketplace.<\/p>\n This means business leaders can now hire freelance content creators who have expertise with a specific AI platform \u2014 and Reddy isn\u2019t surprised.<\/p>\n She continues, \u201cSimilar to how a marketer can level-up by becoming HubSpot or Salesforce certified, I think we\u2019ll soon see marketers who demonstrate their value by saying, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m skilled in using generative AI platforms.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Reddy sees marketers at the forefront of a tool that will ultimately upend all roles within a business, and she believes there’s great privilege in being the first to adopt it.<\/p>\n\n As she puts it, \u201cI think there\u2019s a certain power here that marketers can reclaim, and instead of being the victims in this story of \u2018generative AI is coming for marketing\u2019, I think we really reposition it as saying, \u2018generative AI has landed in the most innovative portion of the enterprise: marketing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She continues, \u201cAnd we are now the stewards of this technology and how it’\u2019l be used within the enterprise, and we get to pilot it and see how it can supercharge our work.<\/p>\n And the folks who lean into being the stewards of this powerful technology will reap its benefits. I consider myself and our industry extremely lucky to be in this position.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Away from getting quick answers to common queries, marketers use search engines to complete tasks like SEO optimization to improve website rankings, conduct keyword research to target relevant search terms and analyze competitors to improve their strategy.<\/p>\n Now, with research being the second most-popular use case for marketers using AI, it stands to reason that they’ll be leveraging traditional search engines less often.<\/p>\n And as more people move to AI search engines<\/a>, tools like HubSpot\u2019s AI Search Grader<\/a> are helping marketers optimize their search performance.<\/p>\n It’s a free app that quickly analyzes your brand based on what your prospects and customers are seeing across AI search engines, then gives you actionable recommendations on how to improve.<\/p>\n But what does this mean for traditional search engines? Would we no longer need, or use, them?<\/p>\n Reddy begs to differ, particularly since the information supplied on search engines is what powers generative AI results. She however sees it drastically changing.<\/p>\n As she puts it, \u201cSearch can help battle AI\u2019s inaccuracies. For instance, Jasper has a function where you can toggle on Google search results.<\/p>\n So if I say, \u2018Jasper, help me write a paragraph about XYZ,\u2019 it\u2019ll write the paragraph, and at the bottom it\u2019ll put in the Google search results it used while it helped me create that output.<\/p>\n So I have factual links which I can cite, and fact-check to ensure they’re the most reliable piece of content on a given topic.\u201d<\/p>\n She continues, \u201cI don’t see search going away. I do<\/em> see a future where I don\u2019t necessarily want to type things into a search bar, and instead, I want to use chat functionality. That, I think, is imminent.<\/p>\n And I think we’re already seeing that with the virality of ChatGPT. In just a couple of days, it\u2019s become the fastest-growing consumer app<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\n Why AI Won\u2019t Replace Marketing<\/a>
\n AI is a Tool For Marketers, Not a Replacement<\/a>
\n But what about the search engines?<\/a>
\n So, will marketing be replaced by AI?<\/a> <\/p>\nHow do marketers use AI?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why AI Won\u2019t Replace Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. AI augments the human experience (but it doesn\u2019t replace the human within that experience).<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. AI still has biases.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
AI is a Tool For Marketers, Not a Replacement<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Marketers will need to reskill.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Marketers will need to become experts in select AI platforms.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
But what about the search engines?<\/strong><\/h2>\n