Steering into the Skid with AI Marketing Jobs

Editor’s Note: In this blog, co-founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Pixis, Hari V, addresses the much talked about topic of AI and its impact on marketing jobs. Through this blog, he outlines how marketing roles are evolving to embrace artificial intelligence as opposed to it taking jobs away from the market.

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a topic we, as marketers, traditionally seemed to tiptoe around, as if it were the big bad wolf coming to devour our jobs. In fact, my interactions with folks inside and outside the industry lead me to believe that this apprehension still remains to a large extent. Lots of industries have seen tasks get automated, and now the implementation of AI in marketing activities is instilling the same fear in marketers. If certain marketing tasks are being automated by AI, what does that mean for the people doing them?

A survey conducted by CNBC showed approximately 45% of advertising and marketing professionals are worried that technology could replace their job, especially when it comes to performance marketing or data analysis roles. This could be due to the fact that the fields of performance marketing and data analysis involve numerous routine tasks that can be automated using AI.

Yet, a study by The World Economic Forum predicted that AI will create 97 million new jobs by 2025, citing content creation as one of the fields at the forefront of this new economy. It does seem contradictory to have human tasks automated, yet have more jobs created. How exactly does that happen?

By now we’ve all heard the phrase “AI will not replace marketers, it will make marketers working with AI more valuable.” Marketers’ job roles will not be replaced, rather they will evolve.

Evolution of Marketing Roles

Roles that involve actively working with AI are no longer restricted to the field of computer engineering or other tech-related industries. It has transcended these conventional fields to become the passion of many non-technical people.

Unlike what sci-fi movies depict, humans will be in control of the tech they implement, and the new job roles would reflect that. The new talent pool will have marketers that best know how to work with and implement AI to show improved results and process efficiency.

Judging from conversations with peers, and from how I see customers leveraging our AI, here are some marketing roles that I believe can evolve to leverage AI for better performances.

AI Marketing Strategist: An AI Marketing Strategist would be responsible for creating and implementing marketing strategies that leverage the power of AI. They would be required to have a deep understanding of the latest AI technologies and their applications in marketing.

AI Marketing Analyst: An AI Marketing Analyst would direct AI tools to gather the right data from the right places and ensure privacy laws are being abided by. They would use this information to develop marketing campaigns that are more effective and targeted.

AI Content Creator: AI-powered content creation tools are becoming increasingly popular in marketing. An AI Content Creator, such as a designer or writer, would be experienced in working with generative AI tools to get the optimum results. They would need to have a good understanding of language, creativity, and marketing.

Predictive Analytics Specialist: A Predictive Analytics Specialist would work with the AI to foresee where and when consumer behaviors may change, and implement strategies accordingly.

These new roles are still evolving, though it seems to be the direction we are moving towards. As long as we reskill ourselves towards this AI shift, there will always be an opportunity for employment and growth.

Current Job Opportunities for AI in Marketing Roles

My observations about AI and jobs being created are further supported by the fact that companies around the world have started experimenting with several AI marketing roles, ranging from entry-level to senior-level positions. A quick search of “AI marketing” in job search portals will provide you with a variety of roles similar to the ones mentioned above, or other AI roles related to marketing. Employers are also actively including “adept at identifying areas that can benefit from AI intervention” or “has experience using artificial intelligence tools” as criteria for vacancies they have in marketing.

A quick search on LinkedIn and Glassdoor showcases about 3,300 and 815 listings for “AI Marketing” respectively. These are positive trends that must be celebrated.

Humans will always have an immense advantage in reasoning, communicating, and managing tasks. The goal here isn’t to find a new job entirely, it is to redefine your role to collaborate with AI to remain competitive. To quote Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, “In the future, we will see the most competitive businesses are the ones that have invested heavily in their human capital – the skills and competencies of their employees.”

We should think about steering into the skid as they say, because AI-led automation in marketing may well be the future. It is time we start reading up and talking about it more to understand where AI can best fit into our marketing strategies. Start experimenting with AI tools, when you end up yielding better results from your campaigns, it will not be the AI getting a pay bump.

In the future, AI could play an integral role across almost all industries, but humans will always be a core competency of any company.