McKinsey's AI Windfall

Hey, welcome back to AI Marketing Brief, the newsletter that’s more refreshing than finding an extra fry at the bottom of the bag. Today’s feast features Hubspot’s AI marketing experiments, ad agencies going cooking with generative AI gas, and an update on Google’s AI Overviews for dessert. Let’s dig in.

Here’s what’s going on this week in AI for marketing:

• Apple’s AI strategy focuses on device integration

• Consulting firms like BCG and McKinsey profit from the AI boom

• Forrester reveals 91% of ad agencies are diving into generative AI

• This is your last chance to sign up for my 10-Minute Newsletter with AI live video workshop today

How AI is Revolutionizing a $28.6B Company’s Marketing Strategy

Two marketing executives at Hubspot share how they’re adapting to the AI era:

1. AI-Enabled Inbound—Leverage AI to conduct research and create differentiated content. Compete aggressively for traffic by focusing on unique perspectives and complex queries.

2. Creator-Led Marketing—Partner with influencers and creators to build credibility. Hire creators to experiment and innovate autonomously.

3. One-to-One Personalization—Use AI to shift from segmented to individualized marketing. Implement personalized experiences across chat, email, and voice.

My take: Hubspot is at the forefront of experimentation with AI. I’m excited to see which of their experiments prove profitable, and what products the release based on them.

The AI Boom Has an Unlikely Early Winner: Consultants!

Who knew? The AI revolution is minting money for consulting giants like Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, and KPMG. BCG now rakes in a fifth of its revenue from AI consulting, a meteoric rise from zilch two years ago. IBM, Accenture, and McKinsey are also cashing in big, with IBM alone securing over $1 billion in sales commitments.

The tech tools may be scrambling for profit, but these consulting titans are already riding high on the AI wave.

My take: Any company who has a big enough profit margin that they can afford to hire big consulting to do their AI strategy is ripe for competition from a startup that uses AI to be more efficient and effective. That being said, companies definitely need training and consulting how to best utilize AI.

Apple’s AI Integration Play

Apple’s diving headfirst into the AI pool, but they’re not following the crowd. Instead of pushing a chatbot or LLM, they’re embedding AI into your device’s core. This means no goofy pizza-glue suggestions—just smart, context-aware features. Apple’s betting that AI is a technology, not a product, and they’re playing the long game.

Ben Evans argues that while AI models like ChatGPT show promise, their true potential lies in identifying and automating grunt work, much like early software applications did.

Forrester Report: Generative AI Revolutionizes US Ad Agencies

A whopping 91% of US ad agencies are diving into generative AI, with 61% already using it and 30% exploring its potential. Major agencies are leading the charge, with 78% of big players leveraging AI compared to 53% of smaller ones. The tech is shaking up the creative scene, with 69% of creative agencies and 57% of media agencies jumping on board.

Expect AI to supercharge content creation, agency marketplaces, and consumer interactions. But it’s not all smooth sailing—legal headaches, privacy concerns, and employee resistance loom large.

Google’s AI Overviews Update: 4 Key Performance Insights

Seer Interactive shared their latest insights on how AI Overviews (AIOs) are impacting marketing performance:

1. Zero-Click Search—Expect traffic declines but impression increases.

2. AIO Citations—Ranking within AIO citations for in-depth queries drives brand value.

3. Traffic Boost—AIOs often drive more traffic than organic results.

4. Positioning—Appearing past position 2 in AIO citations holds minimal value.

My take: AI is already making an impact on how customers shop for and buy products. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Here are a few more stories and hot takes for you:

• Gokul Rajaram advises AI companies to price based on metrics they control, like "activities," rather than end-customer outcomes.

• Toys R Us used OpenAI's Sora to create a pioneering brand film, premiering at the Cannes Lions Festival.

• Austen Allred advises companies to buy LLMs but build AI products to leverage their unique data and IP.

• Nvidia's sky-high valuations and a booming AI ecosystem have turned the $200B question into a $600B conundrum as a revenue gap widens