Experience Inbound 2024 Keynote: AI for performance, not just productivity

Ask the average person what they know about artificial intelligence (AI), and you’ll likely get an answer that has something to do with writing. While true, AI is so much more than generative capabilities — and savvy marketing and sales teams know it.

Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Orbit Media, asserts that when trained properly, AI is a performance change agent, not merely a productivity tool. It’s a matter of approach. Andy advises AI users to “Set aside how to be faster. Focus on how to be better.”

“Set aside how to be faster. Focus on how to be better.”

He points to his own agency, Orbit Media, as a use case. Incorporating AI into workflows revealed how AI tools improved the quality of the Orbit team’s content and services rather than just allowing them to do more.

AI = Average Intelligence

“Being better” isn’t a magic trick. AI is of average intelligence. It can’t intuit ideal customers or target audiences. It can provide answers to basic prompts, but the results will also be basic — and what value is there in content that isn’t qualitatively better than the competition?

What Andy terms “lazy prompting” is a hazard because it ignores a fundamental sales and marketing principle: identifying the persona. Content can’t be targeted without a target to hit.

The good news is that AI is trainable. Entering persona characteristics and other data gives the tool valuable information it can apply to its responses. The more granular the information, the more dialed-in AI becomes — but it’s not infallible. “AI should not be trusted,” Andy explained. “It’s dangerous to assume accuracy. Humans will never be out of the equation. Content verification and validation is essential.”

That said, once AI is properly trained on personas, it can amplify human editing results. Why? Humans are really good at working with content they can see. AI is far superior in assessing what’s not there — identifying content gaps that could be “big misses” such as failure to answer a critical question, or not addressing important objections. Whatever the case, any content that doesn’t measure up to the information needs of your audience jeopardizes your lead gen efforts.

AI = Another Input

Once AI is fed persona information and a regular flow of other related data, AI goes from average intelligence to “another input” for many tasks, including your content development.

“Think of it as a research assistant you can guide toward tasks and results,” Andy said. “There are efficiencies in involving the assistant, but that’s not really the point. Using AI can provide new perspectives that lead to content quality and performance improvements. And marketing is full of moments when there are a small number of assets that have outsized impact on results.”

“Marketing is full of moments when there are a small number of assets that have outsized impact on results.” 

Andy Crestodina at Experience Inbound 2024

AI can make things faster, but the real value lies in how it makes things better by emphasizing performance over productivity.

It’s a concept Andy will be exploring in-depth at Experience Inbound 2024. His keynote presentation Trust and Quality in the New Era of Content Discovery is full of insights this 20-year veteran of digital marketing continues to learn about AI, including frameworks, prompts, and techniques for better digital basics.

Andy will also share what might be the biggest change of all, and how to expand your footprint in the new digital landscape. What is it? Register for Experience Inbound 2024 and hear it firsthand!