The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said: “change is the only constant.” In 2023, you might edit that to say “technological disruption is the only constant.” The rate at which we are introduced to and challenged to embrace new technology continues to gain speed. And for marketers, this often means a shift in strategy, budget and learning new skills.  Today’s tech disruption? Generative AI.

Generative AI companies (like ChatGPT, DALL-E and Jasper) are making headlines and raising anxiety levels in marketing departments and creative agencies everywhere. But do we really have anything to fear? Or is this simply the start of a new era in the ways humans will communicate? …(and brands market).

What is Generative AI?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) uses algorithms to create new content. This can range from long-form blogs to headlines, from images to audio, video or simulations. This technology isn’t new, but it’s been rapidly advancing since 2014 following the invention of the machine learning model GAN (generative adversarial network).

In 2023, we’re now seeing this technology impact content creation in a major way. According to McKinsey, their 2022 survey “shows that AI adoption has more than doubled over the past five years, and investment in AI is increasing apace. It’s clear that generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E (a tool for AI-generated art) have the potential to change how a range of jobs are performed.”

A Timeline of Marketing Technology

While some may be fretting about the kind of change this will bring, we can’t yet know all the ways AI will shape the future of marketing and communication. But we also can’t say we haven’t been here before.

Consider some of the technological advancements that have evolved the field of marketing in the past 30 years:

• The first search engines were invented in the 1990s, with Google becoming the #1 search engine in 2000 (the same year they introduced ads). 
• Banner ads started in the early 1990s as well and became popularized with the launch of Yahoo
• In 2001, you may have been friends with SmarterChild, an early chatbot technology that was available on AOL and MSN messenger, even though you didn’t get Siri in your pocket until 2011
• And social media had its breakout in the early 2000s, with MySpace launching in 2003 and Facebook in 2004 (though it wasn’t until 2007 that ads were introduced to the platform). New social platforms continued to emerge through the 2010s, with TikTok emerging in 2017.
• Although web cookies have been around since the mid 1990s (first patented in 1995), rapid use of third party cookies for marketing didn’t take hold until the 2000s (followed soon after by new privacy and consent laws and now, the rise of ad blocking)
• The era of video content as king arguably took off when Youtube launched in 2005, and ads on the search engine were introduced in 2006
• In 2007, Netlflix launched its streaming service, with Hulu close behind, though ads in streaming didn’t become the norm until around 2019.
• 2010 brought on the real introduction of social media influencer marketing (coinciding with the launch of Instagram). The tactic gained steam between 2014-16 with the boom of reality celebrities.
• In 2010, we also saw the first QR code and a major increase in mobile-first marketing efforts
• From 2011-2023 we’ve seen the explosion of MarTech, with SAAS products (first introduced in the late 90s) becoming essential to any marketing operation in addition to an increased focus on data, analytics, AI and content creation and posting tools.

What Marketers Should Do Now

What’s a marketer, copywriter, blogger to do in the face of generative AI advacements? Don’t panic. Instead, learn, upskill, experiment, brainstorm and get creative. 

Recently, Caroline Forsey wrote an article for Hubspot in which she interviews Samyutha Reddy, Head of Enterprise Marketing for Jasper, one of the several major generative AI companies on the rise in 2023. Forsey asked about the impact of AI tools like Jasper on the fields of marketing and search. She quotes Reddy saying:

“AI 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. 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 could really never replace that human perspective.”

AI tools are just that — tools. And just like the many technologies before, they invite marketers and writers to think differently about how to efficiently and effectively reach their audiences. 

Luckily, there are already brands out there diving in that we can watch and learn from — like Coca Cola ,reportedly leveraging ChatGPT and DALL.E for marketing. 

As Reddy puts it, “I 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.”