It’s hard to avoid the buzz. If you’re a head of marketing or digital leader in 2025, you’ve probably seen more AI webinars, thought pieces, and platform updates in the last six months than in the previous five years combined.
But as the noise ramps up, many leaders are left with more questions than answers: What should we actually be doing? Are we behind? Is AI really going to replace jobs, or is it just another overhyped trend?
In this conversation, I sat down with my Business Partner Dan Shaw as he explored his questions for me, not from the perspective of a tech evangelist, but from a grounded, business-first lens. Here’s what we uncovered.
Despite the flood of AI content, the biggest shifts aren’t just technological. As I shared early on:
Over the last five years, we’ve seen an accelerated evolution in how businesses operate from hybrid work models to restructured teams and pressure to do more with less. AI has become part of that story, but not the whole story.
Let’s get one thing clear: the fear is real, but it’s misplaced.
It’s not wrong to feel uncertain. Budgets are tightening. Teams are shrinking. And the noise around AI is relentless. But fear shouldn’t paralyse action.
2024 was the buffer year. In 2025, the window to wait and see is closing.
A critical theme we unpacked was this: AI will not save you if you don’t know what problem you’re solving.
Dan shared a scenario typical for many leaders today: where a head of marketing is grappling with reduced budget, fewer people, and constant pressure to deliver more. Vendors are knocking. AI features are everywhere. But what do you actually do?
Just like rolling out a CRM or ERP, adopting AI requires understanding:
AI is powerful, but it’s only as good as the data, structure, and context you give it.
Too often, AI is treated as the strategy. But as I emphasised during the chat:
In your business today, are you trying to automate parts of your workforce, speed up customer response times, generate better marketing content, or improve data visibility and decision-making? Until you define that, any AI initiative is just a shot in the dark.
One of the most overlooked opportunities in early AI adoption? Your own people.
There are already individuals inside your organisation quietly using AI tools to speed up tasks, improve work quality, or test ideas. Rather than fearing shadow IT, bring these people in.
This doesn’t require enterprise-wide investment, just curiosity, frameworks, and an appetite for experimentation.
We often think of AI as something entirely new. But the blueprint for adoption already exists.
Think back to your CRM transformation. You didn’t just install software, you defined processes, cleaned up data, trained users, and built trust across departments. AI should be no different.
It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about reapplying proven practices to a new wave of capability.
Perhaps the most forward-looking part of our conversation was this: AI is moving from ‘nice to have’ to ‘core business infrastructure.’
This doesn’t mean every business needs to rush out and build custom models or replace their SaaS stack. But it does mean we’re seeing a shift from AI as a bolt-on tool to AI as an integrated enabler across marketing, operations, customer service, and more.
This isn’t about panic. It’s about progress. AI isn’t here to take your job, but it might just accelerate your future, if you’re willing to engage with it intentionally. It’s a moment of opportunity for those who choose to lead, not just react.