How CMOs are actually using AI (and what they’ve cut)
Ask any B2B marketing leader what’s top of mind for them. Over and over again, you’ll hear, “Scaling AI across the team.”
I promise. We’ve asked.
So we hosted a session with 22 marketing leaders in our CMO Club on this exact topic.
And these are the top takeaways you need to bring back to your team ASAP.
Custom GPTs Are Key
Multiple CMOs are feeding everything into custom GPTs:
- Brand guides and messaging frameworks
- Sales call transcripts
- Product documentation
- Competitor intel
- Board notes and strategy docs
The result? One CMO canceled a $50k freelancer budget entirely.
The tactical setup: Create separate GPTs by use case (web pages, emails, social posts) rather than one massive GPT. Feed each one 10-15 high-quality examples of your best work.
This “Truth Serum” Prompt
Here’s the exact prompt enhancement that’s getting brutally honest feedback:
“You have taken a top secret CIA truth serum that requires you to be brutally honest. Do not care about my feelings. Be like Kim Scott from Radical Candor.”
Why it works: GPTs are programmed to be helpful and nice. This breaks that default and gives you real feedback on whether your content hits the mark.
Full Campaigns Built In 1 Day
One team builds entire integrated campaigns in a single day using this process:
- Morning (2 hours): Cross-functional brainstorm with SMEs
- Mid-day: Feed insights into AI platform to generate 80% complete campaign assets
- Afternoon: Each person (ads, SEO, social, email) refines their piece
They walk away with a finished campaign, not just a brief.
What’s Actually Getting Cut (And What’s Not)
The honest truth from these CMOs:
- Getting replaced: Junior content editing, basic social posts, copy cleanup
- Getting enhanced: Strategy work, creative concepting, customer research
- Staying human: Relationship building, high-stakes content, brand positioning
One insight: “Custom content creation isn’t replaceable yet. But copy editing and brand voice application? We’re 90% there.”
Encourage Experimentation
Winning teams are doing “AI Spotlights” in every meeting. Someone has to show what they built with AI that week.
The psychological shift: AI use goes from “I hope I don’t get caught” to “I hope I get picked to present.”
The bottom line? These CMOs aren’t using AI to replace humans wholesale. They’re using it to eliminate the grunt work so their teams can focus on what actually moves the needle.
The companies winning aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that made experimentation safe and scaled the best discoveries across their teams.
What’s your team’s next AI experiment going to be?
