Yesterday I had the pleasure of moderating a lively, no-nonsense panel at the Generative AI for Marketing Conference in London. Big thanks to Joanna Edwards for the invite, and to my brilliant panellists Ambra Cosentino, Frank Ravanelli of FOREO and richard love for bringing clarity to a topic that often feels like alphabet soup.
We tackled the big, unsaid question:
๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ข๐๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ช๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐โ๐ก๐ก ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก ๐ผ๐?
Turns out: quite a lot. But only if we fix whatโs been holding us back.
Key highlights:
- ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐. AI only works when it's tied to real goals like revenue, retention and better customer experience.
- ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐: Map the full end-to-end process, and ensure data is unified and clean. Without this, AI just accelerates the chaos.
- ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐. Hybrid humanโAI workflows, governance, cross-functional collaboration, and proper training matter far more than the model you choose.
- ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐. Compare human-only vs. AI-assisted outputs and link results directly to business value.
- ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ. Adopt AI in small steps, avoid over-centralisation, and make sure the customer, not just the company, gets the benefit.
- ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ถ๐ป๐. AI can draft, refine and scale. But judgement, taste, insight and original thinking remain human superpowers.
And finally, we ended with some takeaways for every marketing leader:
Be realistic, but bold.
Focus on the foundations. The fancy stuff comes later.
Use AI to elevate your people, not replace them.
And donโt forget: marketing has to change too.
Great discussion!
๐ธ : Ambra