AI Advantage Assessment

There’s growing—and justified—pressure on marketing managers and individual contributors to expand their use of AI. Until recently, budgeting to enable individual use and experimentation made sense as the primary tactic. With early-stage technologies, you want your best people to explore and trial, to help your chart the path forward.

But now, marketing leaders need to look in the mirror and ask: “Am I doing enough to enable my team—at least at the level of other CMOs and VPs?” Relying solely on individual initiative won’t take you much further. So the question becomes:

“What are other marketing leaders doing?”

Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of reliable information about management practices in this space. AI solution providers are leading with exciting functionality—and they’re doing amazing work—but naturally, they tend to be … optimistic about actual adoption. (I’ve been in their shoes, so no judgment.) Consultants vary as well: some aim to encourage, others to warn. Both perspectives have their place.

A Starter List of AI Management Practices

Based on conversations with hundreds of marketing leaders through the AI Advantage Assessment, here are common practices that encourage AI adoption:

• Enablement budget — dedicated funds for AI platforms and training
• Learning frameworks — required and informal venues to learn from one another (think back to how many of us first learned Excel—from the person sitting next to us)
• Centralized project management — creation of large AI projects with clear processes for suggesting new initiatives
• Collaborative problem-solving — structured opportunities to work together, the most popular being hackathons at software companies

In a follow-up, I’ll share data on how frequently these practices are deployed across marketing organizations. But first, let’s turn the conversation back to you. Share in the comments (so other marketers can benefit):

• What has your marketing organization done that’s been most helpful in advancing AI in marketing?
• What have you heard departments try that didn’t work at all?