Q3 • 2023


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arketing disciplines are quickly adopting artificial intelligence in one form or another. Is it a threat, a


benefit, or a complementary tool for writers, designers, and content creators? Performing even a casual search on the benefits and risks associated with artificial intelligence will leave you scrolling for days. The arguments for it—increased productivity, reduction of human error, easy management of repetitive tasks, unbiased decisions—are often pitted against the arguments concerning the risk of privacy, the automation of human jobs, the ethics of its sourcing methods, and a decrease in creativity. British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking once said that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” That seems bad. But is it an overstatement? Time will tell. What we know for certain is that the use of artificial intelligence in the marketing field is well and truly here—and here to stay, according to experts.


“I feel confident in saying that AI will


transform all of our knowledge processes at work, not just content creation,” saysMay Habib, Cofounder and CEO of Writer, an artificial writing assistant for teams. “The disruption is happening now, and it’s up to all of us to make sure we get the best possible outcome.”


Habib isn’t exactly the only person who


is bullish on the use of AI in marketing. Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs and international best- selling author and speaker, is excited that all this chatter about AI writing is quickly shifting the conversation away from the idea that “No one reads, and writing doesn’t matter anymore” to a new mantra: “Writing


email marketing. Today, however, AI is being used in writing, content creation, and design. That’s why more than one research paper has concluded that AI might be the most disruptive technology since digital marketing. “Generative AI uses machine learning to


create or revise written content,” says Habib, an expert in natural language processing and


is the most important thing we do!” “I love how everyone is all-in on words


and writing,” Handley says. “Whether you believe AI is a game changer or not, there’s been a 180-degree turn towards the idea that words matter.” For the uninformed, generative artificial


intelligence (AI)—sometimes called augmented intelligence—is “the theory and development of computer systems that are able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision- making, and translation between language” (as defined in Emerging Library Technologies by Ida Arlene Joiner). Within marketing, much of the publicity around AI pertains to its use in marketing software tools related to data, chatbots, customer journeys, and


More than one research paper has concluded that AI might be the most disruptive technology since digital marketing.


the evolving ways we use language online. “It relies on a large language model (LLM), or an algorithm that understands data from a large data set and generates output or responds to questions based on its understanding of natural language-based inputs.” While leaders across various industries


are starting to see the extraordinary competitive advantage of implementing AI solutions, Habib says they are also seeing the extreme limitations and dangers that come from using generative models that are built for consumer use. “Team leaders need more than the ability


to generate creative stories and sonnets— they need to protect their brand and reputation,” she says. Most commercial models, such as


ChatGPT, draw intelligence (information) from public sources such as Wikipedia, social media posts, academic papers, and web pages. May Habib and Waseem Alshikh (Cofounder and CTO of Writer) created their platform to work differently. At the core of their technology is Palmyra, a proprietary family of LLMs trained on publicly available formal and business writing. More importantly, they are trained on a company’s own data, such as the style guide, brand voice, messaging, sample content, and company facts. The result is that customers get their own customized version of the model, and the data is used like an index. Most of Writer’s 100-plus customers— including Uber, L’Oréal, Deloitte, Spotify, HubSpot, and Hilton—are brand-conscious companies with more than 1,000 employees, often in technology, retail and e-commerce, financial services, and healthcare. But what exactly is AI being used for in marketing on a day-to-day basis?


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