How AI is reshaping learning and development in digital marketing

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By Craig Holdcroft

5 November 2024

As a digital marketing practitioner and lecturer, I’ve seen the industry transform with technology, from the early days of web analytics to today’s AI-driven strategies. The initial hype around generative AI has quietened over the last 18 months, but its impact is far from fading. Today, many professionals, myself included, are finding ways to use AI tools to streamline daily tasks, enhance creativity, and better connect with audiences. For those of us teaching the next generation of marketers, this is also a huge opportunity to bring AI strategies into the classroom, ensuring students are prepared for the modern workplace.

A New Chapter with ChatGPT’s Web Search Capability

One of the most exciting developments in recent months has been ChatGPT’s web search capability. This feature allows users to access live, up-to-date data directly from the web—making it not just a research tool, but a real-time content and strategy assistant. Imagine the possibilities for content creation, where marketers and students alike can find timely insights, discover new trends, and conduct in-depth competitor analysis in moments.

As a lecturer, I’m finding that this capability is transformative. It enables my students to access current examples and case studies, saving us all valuable time and bringing an entirely new dimension to learning. For small businesses, web search integration can support market research and competitor analysis without the cost of a full team, helping them make informed decisions on the fly.

AI in Digital Marketing: Benefits and Barriers

According to a Microsoft report on the future of work, around 75% of global knowledge workers have used generative AI at work. However, many executives are still uncertain about how to fully harness its power (Accenture). As marketers, we understand that data-driven insights are essential, yet integrating new AI tools often comes with challenges in strategy and skill development.

Microsoft’s research shows that AI is already helping professionals save time (90%), focus on priority tasks (85%), boost creativity (84%), and improve job satisfaction (83%) (Microsoft). Many digital marketers are already using AI to automate repetitive tasks, from email management to scheduling, enabling more time for creative and strategic work.

In my own teaching and consulting work, we’re exploring pilot schemes that integrate AI into daily operations, including small businesses that need a competitive edge. Additionally, our faculty has adopted the AI Assessment Scale, which serves as a guide to help students understand how AI can be responsibly and effectively utilised as part of their studies. This scale provides a framework for integrating AI into academic work, encouraging students to think critically about when and how to use AI tools to enhance their learning and develop practical skills (in this case,digital marketing). Together, these initiatives showcase how AI, when used thoughtfully, can streamline tasks, support decision-making, and offer assisted guidence to users who can utiise generative AI as a junior assistant in their role.

AI-Powered Learning: The Key to Retention and Engagement

One of the biggest challenges in learning—whether for students or professionals—is overcoming the “forgetting curve”. We know that people lose about 90% of what they learn within a week if they don’t apply it. This ties closely to the Dunning-Kruger effect in digital marketing, where those with limited knowledge may overestimate their understanding. This overconfidence without skill reinforcement can be a problem for anyone trying to advance in such a fast-paced field.

Together, these theories remind us that to develop real expertise, we need ongoing practice and reinforcement. AI tools offer the solution by creating personalised, adaptive training environments that deliver insights and learning exactly when they’re needed. For students, this means they can experience real-time coaching, build skills, and apply what they learn in a safe, environment—a huge leap forward for applied learning in digital marketing.

Learning in AI: Accessible Courses to Build Foundational Skills

In a world where employees and students have limited time—only about 24 minutes a week for professional development (Josh Bersin) its important to break down generative AI into a sequence of learning tasks. For me I tend to practice with Chat GPT as my main source of online technology. There are now so many different AI platforms it can be difficult to know where to begin. To help individuals get to grips with the basics of generative AI, here are four free courses from Google Cloud offer an efficient way to build foundational skills:

These free courses offer an accessible starting point for marketing professionals and students alike, empowering them with the knowledge to use AI responsibly and effectively in their careers.Remember, generative AI technology is improving rapidly. Keeping up can be difficult but choosing to make a start will give you that boost should you need it.

Still deciding on AI strategies

Despite all these advantages, many leaders are still unsure about their AI strategy. Building a clear, effective AI adoption plan remains challenging, but empowering teams with AI for learning and task automation is a scalable way to address these hurdles.

Through our pilot projects in education and consulting, I’m seeing firsthand how AI can support practical needs in various environments, from learning to marketing. If you’re facing challenges with AI in business or higher education, let’s connect! I’d love to explore opportunities for collaboration to overcome these barriers and advance AI’s positive impact.

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