Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI recently penned a piece called The Intelligence Age.
It’s worth a read.
Especially since Sam said: “AI will do 95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today.”
I think that’s a bit wild of a take but… Maybe I’m biased?
Either way:
I’ve pulled a few key quotes from his essay and added my commentary around how they will impact marketers and revenue leaders in the coming months. Some of these takes I believe others in the industry will call a bit ludacris (maybe reckless) but I believe we are entering a time of significant and momentous change for our industry. Let’s get into it…
Sam’s content in blue.
Ross’ content in black.
“In the next couple of decades, we will be able to do things that would have seemed like magic to our grandparents.”
In the last few weeks, we’ve been able to see things that seemed like magic to our grandparents. In fact, we can do things today that just 3 years ago would have felt like magic but are completely feasible and possible today. We can tell Midjourney or ChatGPT to create a cartoon character with just our words and have it within seconds. We can upload a photo of ourselves and use AI to make that photo come to life.
The total number of AI tools making our job as marketers more efficient, creative and effective are piling up more and more each day.
“People have become dramatically more capable over time; we can already accomplish things now that our predecessors would have believed to be impossible.”
This is true. We can send more emails today than ever before. We can write more tweets than ever before. We can design more mock ups than ever before. We can optimize blog posts for search faster than ever before. We can repurpose podcasts faster than ever before. We can do so many things in the matter of minutes that at one point took hours. Productivity and efficiency gains are real. Yet some still ignore the potential…
We will all look back at this time and wish we did a little bit more with AI to get ahead of the wave that is coming.
My advice:
SEO experts: use AI tools.
Video editors: use AI tools.
Photographers: use AI tools.
SDRs and BDRs: use AI tools.
Social media pros: use AI tools.
Website designers: use AI tools.
Everyone…
Use AI tools.
If you’re not leveraging AI to help you at the very least think differently about projects or problems – You’re missing out. I’ve seen sales teams use AI to create personalized emails at scale. I’ve seen CPG brands use AI to create images that are tailored to the recipient’s taste and past purchase behavior. I’ve seen video assets modified and adjusted in ways that would have required an entire shoot day with a crew just 4 years ago…
The potential here is massive. Don’t sleep on it.
“AI will give people tools to solve hard problems and help us add new struts to that scaffolding that we couldn’t have figured out on our own. The story of progress will continue, and our children will be able to do things we can’t.”
The progress that we’re seeing with AI is going to have a massive shift. A recent McKinsey report estimates that gen AI could contribute up to $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity. In a similar McKinsey study, it was found that some of the areas in which the biggest impacts are expected to happen include things like lead identification, marketing optimization and personalized outreach. Here’s the chart that I’m referring to when it comes to this:
I can say first hand that tools like Koala, Frase, Jasper, HeyGen and Surfer are all making this idea a reality.
You can use Koala to see what companies are on your site. It uses AI to help gauge how interested they are in your product. Then it uses AI again to help identify their name, email, company, linkedin account and more. This is SDR and BDR gold. Reach out exactly when the intent is right.
You can use Frase to conduct an on-site analysis of any landing page or SERP and use it to develop an in-depth asset that is optimized for search.
You can use HeyGen to create a video of you saying “Hi {First Name}” and send them at scale to hundreds of people with a message that looks like you, sounds like you and moves their hands like you.
Our children will have virtual tutors who can provide personalized instruction in any subject, in any language, and at whatever pace they need.
At the very least, this is how each of us should be thinking about AI today. You can improve your thinking by having conversations with an AI tool about problems you face.
Not sure how you should reply to someone who responds with a short and snarky reply? Ask AI for coaching. Not sure how to use a Google Sheet to create a report filled with the page titles of URLs and propose URLs with best practices? Use AI to find out how and then an AI agent to execute the task.
Want to learn how to set up a good ad campaign? Find the blog posts, youtube videos and guides from some of the best in the industry – turn them into a database of information and resources. Give that to your AI tool and ask any question you need to create a campaign that works.
It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there.
Superintelligence.
What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? This book breaks it all down.
No matter what happens. Here’s one thing for sure:
The path to Superintelligence is ahead of us.
You can stay stuck in 1999 with your approach to technology if you wish but the change is here and it’s coming swiftly. I predicted back in 2018 that eventually we would have AI taking our video conferencing calls on our behalf. Today, it’s already possible. You can connect HeyGen to a Zoom today and if you connect your digital avatar to a database of information associated with the way you think, operate, speak and show up – it will use that to meet with and interact with other people. This can happen today.
We can say a lot of things about what may happen next, but the main one is that AI is going to get better with scale, and that will lead to meaningful improvements to the lives of people around the world.
It’s still early.
This is the beginning stages of something that will fundamentally change humanity long term.
Our industry has lost a lot of the initial hype that came with AI. The buzz that started back when ChatGPT launched has died down. But for those who quietly continue to use AI to improve their workflows, connect with more people, spread their stories, send more emails [hate’em or love’em], use data more intentionally to create and build campaigns within minutes vs. months – the ROI has been ridiculous.
AI models will soon serve as autonomous personal assistants who carry out specific tasks on our behalf like coordinating medical care on your behalf.
Lots of tasks will be replaced due to AI. Lots of roles will be replaced because of AI.
We need to act wisely but with conviction.
If you’re not convinced that AI is here to stay.
If you’re not convinced that AI can help you.
If you’re not convinced that AI is powerful.
You’re absolutely mistaken.
Although it will happen incrementally, astounding triumphs – fixing the climate, establishing a space colony, and the discovery of all of physics – will eventually become commonplace. With nearly-limitless intelligence and abundant energy – the ability to generate great ideas, and the ability to make them happen – we can do quite a lot.
AI has the power to do all these things but you’re unsure whether or not it’s going to change the way we buy media? You’re not convinced it’s going to change the way you write emails? You’re not convinced it will be able to create visuals and graphics that inspire people? If AI has the power to support the creation of a space colony – imagine the impact it’s going to have on all of us as professionals.
We expect that this technology can cause a significant change in labor markets (good and bad) in the coming years, but most jobs will change more slowly than most people think, and I have no fear that we’ll run out of things to do (even if they don’t look like “real jobs” to us today). People have an innate desire to create and to be useful to each other, and AI will allow us to amplify our own abilities like never before.
I think this is true.
You will be safe for the next five years.
I hope that gives you some relief but also I hope you don’t take this as an excuse to sit back and wait.
Instead, I hope you take a look at the impact of AI and say:
- How can I ensure that I make the most out of this technology so I look back with gratitude around these years of work?
I think this is where we all need to be.
How can you use AI to create better decks?
How can you use AI to deliver better emails?
How can you use AI to repurpose your content?
How can you use AI to connect with your manager?
How can you use AI to turn data sets into real pipeline?
How can you use AI to turn your pipeline into real revenue?
It’s all possible.
It’s all feasible.
The question really just comes down to figuring out whether or not you’re willing to operate with conviction.