Alastair, the Co-Founder of Digital Marketing Agency Optix Solutions in the U.K., emphasizes the importance of using AI in content creation but acknowledges the struggle in going beyond that. He believes that AI is here to stay and offers opportunities to create efficiency and free up capacity, but there is a need for behavioral change to fully utilize it.
Although ChatGPT, a form of accessible AI, may seem relatively new, Alastair’s journey with AI began in the late 1990s at the University of Exeter. He recently authored an e-book on generative AI for marketing titled “10 Prompts That Will Transform Your Marketing Team,” aimed at helping marketing professionals improve their prompting skills. He encourages marketers to become “masters of the machine” and use AI effectively to enhance their work.
In discussing the different types of AI, Alastair explains that Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) includes generative versions like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini that are becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing. These AI tools can complete long tasks in seconds, provide access to vast amounts of data, and help overcome creative blocks. While there are concerns about AI making people redundant, Alastair believes that human input is still necessary in developing, training, and using AI effectively.
Despite the benefits of AI, caution is advised in dealing with issues such as privacy, fact verification, and bias in AI-generated information. Alastair stresses the importance of compliance with secure AI tools, verifying facts, and guarding against biases that AI may inadvertently pick up from various sources it trains on. Despite the advancements in AI technology, it is crucial to remain vigilant and critical when using AI in daily tasks.
Looking towards the future, Alastair predicts that the next stage in generative AI for marketers will involve customization, allowing companies to create their unique GPTs tailored to their specific needs. Customized AI tools can be utilized for branding support, onboarding processes, budgeting strategies, content creation, and more. He emphasizes the importance of continuous training and feedback to ensure that AI is working effectively for individuals and businesses.
In conclusion, Alastair believes that marketers need to focus on learning how to optimize AI to their advantage by providing clear definitions in their questions and offering feedback to improve AI’s performance. By training AI to work effectively and iterating on responses, marketers can harness the power of AI to enhance their work processes and productivity. As AI continues to evolve, Alastair encourages individuals to embrace its potential and strive for mastery in utilizing AI technology in their daily tasks.
