Marketers, creatives, and AI fans —lend me your ears
If you're wondering if the em dash in the sentence above was my own doing the answer is an unashamed "yes" — although it turns out many people are scared to use this humble punctuation mark at all now because of its notorious association with AI-generated copy.
The rise of em dash shame is just one of the insights unearthed in Typeform's epic new "GetReal" report: Generative AI and the marketer, which was released today.
Our team surveyed 2,000+ marketers and consumers (using a typeform) to get their take on how generative AI is redefining marketing. What do they feel about AI? Would they be relieved or panicked if it were banned? What do they use it for? How threatened by AI are they?
Whether you're marketing products for B2B or B2C companies, this report is a must-read. And in the interests of embracing both genAI and my own brain cells to "market" it to you—here's why you should check it out.
Why AI says you should read this report 🤖
Here's why ChatGPT recommends you check out the report:
"We’re all experimenting with AI in different ways—but how is it actually changing marketing and creative work?
This report shares data-backed insights into what’s working, what’s not, and how consumer trust is evolving—which makes it a fascinating read whether you're optimizing funnels, shaping brand strategy, or building products."
Why I say you should read it 😜
For balance (and to remind myself that I don't need AI to help me form all of my opinions), here's why I, a human being, think it's worth taking your time out to take in this excellent report:
1. It digs into the opinions and experiences of real-life marketers and consumers on the three big talking points of generative AI in marketing:
- AI adoption
- Trust
- Job security
2. There are some awesome soundbites from the people surveyed that add great fidelity to the topic. A couple of my favourites:
"Alongside all of my concerns about environmental impact, impact on creatives, stolen material, inaccurate information, dependency, etc. is just a feeling of icky-ness that I can't shake. I'd give up the convenience of getting 100 headline options in 2 minutes if I never had to feel that again." – Amen to the icky-ness
"Marketing is about figuring out what people's problems are in life and how the products we sell can solve these problems. It's about matching people with stuff they really need and making sure they're not buying stuff they don't need." – I think this is one of the most uplifting descriptions of marketing I've heard!
3. The data sent my brain into a tailspin:
- 59% of consumers say they want marketers to disclose when they use AI. 50% of marketers say they disclose when they use AI. So unless, those 50% that do disclose are all marketing to the folks who want that heads-up, this feels like a bit of a wake-up call.
- One third of marketers surveyed said they have lost their job (or know someone that had) due to AI. That's scary.
- 91% of marketers say they edit their copy to make it sound more human. I found it odd that as many as 9% just let the AI's raw ramblings loose. I also wonder how this number will change in a year or two. Could we be looking at a world where humans are in the loop for only half of everything that hits the Internet? Or will the tide turn and more value be placed on humanoid-first content?
4. It is in itself a great example of exceptional content marketing in the modern world. The Get Real report is an exemplary top-of-funnel piece for several reasons:
- It uses proprietary data (sourced via Typeform obvs) to unearth unique and fascinating narratives
- It veers away from AI-generated slop by leaning into crowd-sourced, human-generated content.
- I loved the rich and engaging way that video, audio, and text commentary were woven into the report from so many different sources. It really feels like this is the content marketing of the future—digging that all of this multimedia content was collected via a typeform survey!
So go read the takeaways for yourself, hear opinions, straight from your fellow marketers' mouths. And please pass props onto the Typeform marketing team for putting this report together
What do you think?
Have you read the GetReal report? We'd love to know your thoughts on any of the topics and the report itself. How has your world as a marketer or creative changed since the advent of generative AI?
