AI, Marketing, and Communications: Why It’s Too Soon to Panic
Everywhere you look, someone’s screaming about how AI is going to “replace your entire marketing team.”
Calm. Down. (Inbound hate mail coming in 3…2…1).
I get it. Our profession is used to being underestimated. When budgets get tight, we’re first on the chopping block. When shiny new tech shows up, we’re suddenly “replaceable.” And now? Here comes AI, entering the chat like it owns the place. But here’s the thing: we don’t actually know what AI will mean for our jobs yet.
So, before you hit the panic button, let’s talk about what’s really going on.
AI Reality Check: Slower and Harder Than the Hype
Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, nailed it:
“AI use at most big companies is slower and harder than hoped.”
CEOs are obsessed with AI, but most don’t fully know how to implement it at scale. AI isn’t a magic switch – it requires rethinking workflows, retraining teams, and redefining roles.
That takes time. Years, not months. Translation: AI isn’t coming for your job tomorrow. But the way you work? It will evolve – and that’s okay.
The Messy Middle
Think back to the dot-com boom. Hundreds of internet companies popped up overnight. Then the bubble burst.
It wasn’t the end of the internet – it was the messy beginning of the digital economy we know today.
AI is following a similar path. Right now, we’re in that awkward stage of hype, confusion, and trial and error. The long-term potential? Huge. We just need to ride out the chaos to get there.
What Clients Want Now
Here’s what we do know: employers are already shifting what they expect from marketing and communications talent.
The go-to checklist – KPIs, comfort with tools like Marketo, Salesforce, Google Ads, and strong industry relationships – still matters.
But now, it’s just table stakes.
From our front-row seat, clients are asking for future-ready pros who bring:
1. Inquisitiveness – Experimenting with new tools instead of waiting for instructions.
2. Data-Driven Decisions – Connecting insights across marketing, sales, and CX for revenue attribution.
3. Problem Solving – Finding inefficiencies and fixing them.
4. Intuition – Using sound judgment and human instinct, built on lived experience, to make decisions AI simply can’t.
5. Systems Thinking – Seeing how small changes ripple across the entire ecosystem.
A Call for Calm (and Action)
Here’s my take: AI isn’t the villain. But it’s not the savior either. It’s a tool that we’re all still learning to use. And right now, there’s no clear playbook for what it means for our jobs.
So instead of panicking, let’s focus on what is in our control:
· Upskill
· Adapt
· Prove value
We’re in the messy middle. Yes, there’s noise. Yes, there’s uncertainty. But there’s also opportunity to shape the future of our profession.
When the dust settles, it won’t just be about AI. It will be about those of us who embraced change and showed our companies what’s truly possible.
So, take a breath, my friends. We’ve been here before. And we’ll come out stronger – again.