Natalie Nathanson, Founder & President of Magnetude Consulting, a full-service marketing agency working with small & midsized B2B tech firms
It’s never been easier to maximize marketing—to spin up ad creative in minutes, produce blog posts at the push of a button and create personalized outreach at scale—and we have AI to thank. But when anyone can launch a campaign instantly, two things happen: The output tends toward mediocrity, and it becomes difficult for any of it to rise above the noise.
In the age of AI marketing, quality, not quantity, is what earns attention. Companies that produce thoughtful, original, human-centered marketing will win. AI can assist you, but you must approach it with the right mindset.
That mindset starts at the top.
AI alone won’t earn trust, win deals or grow market share. Your team needs more than the latest tools. They need strategic direction, clarity of purpose and the freedom to create lasting value.
Here’s how CEOs can lead in a way that makes AI in marketing a true multiplier, starting with what not to do.
What Not To Do
Avoid these traps when incorporating AI at your company:
Don’t Pressure Marketing To ‘Do More With Less’
It’s easy to look at generative AI and think, “Great, now marketing can work 10 times faster,” or even, “Do we need a marketing department at all?” That mindset is misleading. Higher volume and quicker pace don’t necessarily produce better results. Mindlessly pushing for speed and scale will backfire.
Using AI to “do more with less” is missing the point. Marketing isn’t assembly-line work. It’s creative, strategic and iterative. Treating AI as a shortcut to infinite productivity puts your team under unfair pressure, stifles the creative process and won’t drive the desired outcomes.
Don’t Suddenly Change Performance Expectations
AI doesn’t give leaders license to unexpectedly increase lead goals or shift revenue targets. (Often, achieving the same results as in prior years is increasingly more challenging, not less.) Just because new tools are available doesn’t mean you should rewrite your marketing strategy overnight. AI allows you to do more, but you must do the right things to achieve your goals.
If you’re considering updating key performance indicators tied to AI productivity, get input from marketing leadership first. They understand what’s working, what’s worth testing and what’s needed to deliver results.
Don’t Confuse Tools With Strategy
Use AI to support your marketing team, not bypass them altogether. Don’t be the CEO who takes their team’s well-researched strategic messaging straight to ChatGPT for “a few tweaks.” Large language models (LLMs) are trained to sound confident, justifying weak ideas with strong language. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up following generic advice instead of strategic insight.
Use AI to explore and challenge assumptions; don’t rely on it to make decisions. Your marketing strategy should be built by people who understand your business, market, customers and goals, not a model trained to essentially guess what you want to hear.
What To Do Instead
Now that you know what not to do, here’s what you should do instead to leverage AI’s potential in marketing:
Trust Your Marketing Team’s Guidance
Design, messaging, channels, tone, targeting—your marketing team’s expertise allows them to make smart decisions in these areas. Your role is to challenge your team with bold goals and clear priorities, not second-guess their every move. AI should enable your marketing team; it doesn’t replace their years of experience or strategic thinking abilities.
Invest In Training, Systems And Support
Your marketing team was likely built in a pre-AI world. They’re learning AI on the job—testing tools, rewriting processes and figuring out what works (and what doesn’t). Support them with training and systems that help them transition from exploring AI to operationalizing it. Encourage them to rethink how work is done, find new efficiencies or incorporate tools that enable meaningful progress.
Treat AI Integration As R&D
ChatGPT can create a first draft in seconds, but achieving high-quality output takes time. A copywriter might spend two hours refining a prompt, feeding in background context and revising a draft. That learning curve isn’t wasted effort—it’s research and development.
Provide space for your marketing team to evaluate options, document workflows and build new skills—for example, creating a custom GPT that knows your brand inside and out. The payoffs will come, but not without upfront work.
Standing out requires taking risks, and some of them won’t pan out. Give your team permission to experiment without fear of failure.
Establish A Clear Point Of View
AI can summarize what’s already out there, but it can’t define your mission and vision. That’s your job as CEO. A strong point of view, grounded in your company’s purpose and aligned to your customer’s needs, is your biggest brand asset. It should guide your messaging, your content and your channel strategy. One of the biggest contributions a CEO can make to marketing is committing to and communicating the company’s unique point of view.
If you lead an AI-enabled business, keep in mind that AI is not a stand-alone differentiator. The outcomes delivered, not the technology itself, should still be front and center in your messaging.
Contribute To Thought Leadership
Want to be involved in marketing? Do it where it counts: Invest in your own thought leadership. Generative AI can’t replace lived experience or replicate conviction—although it can assist you as a thought partner for brainstorming topics, clarifying ideas and supporting content creation. The strongest thought leadership starts with people who are willing to share their perspective, challenge assumptions and take a stand.
Show up as a voice in your industry. Share insights your target market wants to hear. That’s how you can create the most value.
Your Influence Is Powerful—Use It Wisely
AI has indelibly changed the marketing landscape. But it hasn’t eliminated the need for quality, originality and customer-focused strategy. If anything, it’s raised the bar higher.
As a CEO, your influence is powerful. Use it to create conditions that enable your team to do their best work. Resist the urge to chase volume for its own sake. Instead, double down on quality, alignment and differentiation.
AI alone can’t transform your company’s marketing. But your leadership can.
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