On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” host Dan Kahn and AI expert Stephanie Nivinskus discuss AI and its impact on businesses. Stephanie has spent the majority of her career as a marketer, leading campaigns for well-known brands like Quicksilver, the NFL and Starbucks. A best-selling author, she founded her own agency in 2009, helping brands with all aspects of marketing.
The rise of ChatGPT just under three years ago completely changed Stephanie’s focus. She pivoted to embrace AI as a tool to make her agency faster and more efficient. Today, Stephanie does the same for other brands, working as an AI consultant to help companies integrate AI-powered marketing tools. On this special episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” she shares her experience of effectively integrating AI into brands and what to be aware of.
Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:
Look for internal issues with your workflows before searching for an AI program.
Follow AI experts on social media to understand what actually works.
Humans still play a vital role with AI.
Be protective of your sensitive data with AI.
Always be transparent about how you integrate AI into your brand.
Start With Your Bottlenecks
Many brands struggle to integrate AI effectively into their workflows. Others “jump on the bandwagon” to say they are using AI but aren’t really solving any internal problems. It might sound simplistic, but one of the best ways to use AI is to first determine where it can be the most helpful.
“I think the best place to start is actually by identifying where your bottlenecks are. Just sitting down with your team and figuring out what the bottlenecks in our company are that are slowing us down the most, that are costing us the most money and that are taking too much manpower, but we really need them,” said Stephanie. “They are not dispensable and we really need them, but it is just too intensive. Once you identify some of those things, then it is looking at what AIs are out there that can help.”
Shift Through the Noise
A wealth of AI-powered programs claim to supercharge your brand’s productivity and effectiveness. While some are helpful, others are not and just want to drain your bank account. Shifting through the “noise” of what AI programs are worth the investment for a brand can be confusing. However, social media can be a major help in determining which AIs provide value.
“I am in a community with trusted experts, and we are talking about what is working and masterminding it on a daily basis. But for people who aren’t in something like that, I would say find people who are and follow them. I am on TikTok and share a lot on TikTok for free. I give away a lot of tips and tools that can really help someone, and it doesn’t cost anything,” said Stephanie. “There are a lot of leading names out there. I like to follow Matt Wolfe, and he actually has a database of AI tools that you can search and find a tool that might be a good fit for you.”
You Still Need Humans
Brands get into major trouble when they think AI can completely replace a human workforce. AI is far from perfect and still needs human oversight over anything it produces or tasks it completes. Completely trusting AI and not checking its “work” is a recipe for disaster.
“It is so absolutely critical to have human supervision over all AI outputs. If I can warn your listeners of one thing, it is this. If you are copying and pasting what you are getting from any of these AI tools and you are not reading it, you are taking a huge risk,” says Stephanie. “I strongly urge you to stop doing it that way. It needs human oversight.”
IP is a Major Issue with AI
One often overlooked issue with AI is intellectual property. Once you put information into an AI platform, it is an extremely grey area who now owns that data. Stephanie has some stern words of advice for anyone using AI with a brand’s IP.
“With IP, anything that you give to AI is up for grabs. I don’t care if it promises you privacy. I don’t believe it, and I wouldn’t believe it for a second,” said Stephanie. “Use the tools. They are amazing, and I use AI all day, every day. However, I do not put sensitive information into it.”
Be Transparent
Stephanie notes transparency is essential for brands using AI, especially those using it to enhance products or services. She discloses to all her clients that she uses AI to assist her agency and its employees. Most don’t mind as long as they know that fact up front and don’t feel deceived.
“I absolutely disclose everything. I think transparency is critical at this stage with all of this because if you don’t have your client’s trust, you’re not going to have a client for very long, right? Absolutely, I disclose that I am using AI in all kinds of different ways,” said Stephanie. “I want to make sure that they understand I am using this technology and there are some inherent risks to it. My ideal client is okay with those risks, but not everyone is.”
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