AI Ads Invade Google

Hey, welcome back to AI Marketing Brief, the only newsletter where AI headlines pop faster than popcorn in the microwave. Grab a seat and let’s tune in to all the drama and innovation (popcorn not included).

Here’s what’s playing for you today:

• Google's AI Overviews now feature personalized ads

• OpenAI Head of Marketing shares the “AI primitives” marketers need to master

• How AI shifts the weights of the build vs buy seesaw

• My company Atherial launched The Workflow Store!

The Workflow Store is Open!

I’m thrilled to share that my company Atherial launched The Workflow Store. Here are our first two workflows:

• AI Ghostwriter—Record yourself talking and get LinkedIn posts about your points of view with shockingly good copywriting in minutes. Say goodbye to robotic and generic AI content.

• The 10-Minute Newsletter—Writes curation newsletters with news stories and resources you choose to include. I use this to save hours on this newsletter every week.

You don’t need to buy an army of tool subscriptions, or go back to school to gain the new technical AI skills to take full advantage of the power of AI. Shop at The Workflow Store instead.

Use discount code AIMB for $20 off this week!

Ads Invade Google's AI Overviews

Ads are officially crashing the AI Overview party. Picture ads popping up as "Sponsored" results just below answers. They’re sourced from existing campaigns, but here’s the kicker—no direct reporting, and advertisers can't opt out. Ads appear on Google's mobile search results in the US. It’ll hit desktops soon too.

My take: AI raises a bunch of new ethical questions that we all have to wrestle with. Is repurposing people’s content and then monetizing it ethical? I don’t know, but it definitely feels close to the line.

OpenAI Exec’s Take on Unlocking AI's Potential in Marketing

Dane Vahey, Head of Strategic Marketing at OpenAI gave a talk at INBOUND on mastering “AI primitives”:

• Research

• Data analysis

• Content generation

• Automation and coding

• Thinking

Picture AI as your versatile ally, streamlining tasks and optimizing efficiency. Embrace a mindset that’s optimistic and empowered to tackle challenges head-on. Dane says to equip yourself with these foundational tools, ensuring AI isn't just a novelty but a strategic asset in your marketing toolkit.

Case Study on AI Sales Enablement in Enterprise

In Episode 8 of LiveAI, Spirent's CIO Chris Frankosky shares insights into transforming enterprise processes with GenAI. By integrating Salesforce with AI, Spirent streamlines sales efforts through custom AI agents.

This approach empowers employees, turning them into 'superhumans' by leveraging AI to provide instant product insights and competitor analysis. Marketers can take away the importance of AI literacy and fostering an environment where AI becomes a collaborator, like a co-worker, not just another tool.

My take: I love the “bottom up” approach that Chris used to adopt AI at Spirent. They let employees find ways to get value from AI in their every day lives, then scaled those use cases across the company and built upon them.

A few hot takes…

• Aaron Upright argues that AI adoption in enterprises will shift from Product-Led Growth (PLG) to sales-led approaches due to complex security and measurement challenges.

• Tanay Jaipuria presents two potential AI impacts: a disruptive view predicting SaaS’ decline, and a growth view expanding SaaS’ market by automating labor.

• Tomasz Tunguz highlights the trend towards building AI-driven internal products, potentially disrupting enterprise software with cost-effective, bespoke solutions.

Mike Fishbein