How is AI reshaping marketing

AI is changing marketing quickly, but perhaps not in the way many marketers fear. In Episode 11 of I Am Not a Robot, Justin Melton and Luke Taylor speak with Kathryn Illy, CEO of the Australian Marketing Institute. Marketing has felt the impact of AI particularly quickly because it sits at the intersection of technology, data and creativity. Repeatable tasks including reporting, administration, personalisation and content creation can now be completed faster. Rather than viewing this purely as an efficiency exercise, Kathryn sees an opportunity for marketers to redirect that time towards strategy, analysis and solving bigger business problems.

But producing more content does not automatically mean producing better marketing. As AI makes it easier for people across an organisation to create content, marketers have an increasingly important role as custodians of the brand. Content still needs to reflect the organisation’s audience, values, tone of voice and broader strategy. Human oversight remains critical to ensuring what goes to market is accurate, authentic and consistent.

For smaller businesses, AI also has the potential to level the playing field. Teams with only one or two marketing people can access capabilities that previously required far greater resources. However, simply having access to an AI tool is not enough. Kathryn argues that businesses also need to invest in developing the skills required to use these tools effectively. The quality of the outcome still depends heavily on the knowledge, context and direction provided by the person using it.

While the tools are changing, the fundamentals of good marketing are not. Businesses still need to understand their customers, their needs, their competitive advantage and how to reach their audience. What is changing is who, or what, marketers are communicating with. As people increasingly use AI tools to discover and evaluate information, Kathryn suggests businesses need to consider a dual marketing strategy that reaches both humans and large language models.

Ultimately, successful AI adoption in marketing is less about chasing the latest technology and more about curiosity, strategy and continuous learning. Kathryn encourages marketers to trial and test something small every day while organisations establish clear guardrails around AI use. AI can accelerate execution and give marketers more room to think, but people still provide the judgement, creativity and understanding of the customer. As AI takes on more of the execution, strong marketing skills may become more important than ever.