Balancing tech and humanity. How to market AI products?
I've been looking for benchmarks and examples of how to market AI-native products—which campaigns and messaging hit the spot and truly stand out. But most of what I’ve found centers on?"using and implementing AI for marketing use cases," not so much on how to actually?"market it".
So here's my take and the results of some digging.
Initially, marketing AI seems like any other tech:
educate the market -> find product x market/channel/persona fit -> scale demand -> expand horizontally (lines of business) or vertically (industries) -> go global
Pretty standard, right?
Yes and no.
Marketing AI introduces unique challenges and responsibilities, demanding close attention to data security, privacy, and societal impact. Mishandled, it risks fueling negative public sentiment, amplifying the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) which would only slow adoption further.
You can take one of two approaches.
01 The visionary idea of AI
Imagine a world where technology is driving massive and unprecedented efficiencies, reshaping the future of work in a matter of months, not years.
Here, AI isn’t just a technology; it's a fundamental driver, which potentially has a 3x bigger impact than the rise of the Internet. Automation frees people from repetitive tasks, creates shorter workweeks, and more time for creative, high-value projects.
This is the world AI-native technologies are meant to unlock: a kind of "renaissance of human craftwork" (Harvard Business Review, 2024) where human skills are amplified, not replaced.
The challenge? This vision needs real-world examples that demonstrate how AI benefits everyday businesses and workers. Actual examples!
We often see flashy reports covering AI at a high level. That’s great, but how does it work day-to-day? The devil is in the details.
To sell the future of AI, we must prove its practical value today.
02 AI as a (powerful) add-on
It's a more grounded approach, treating AI as part of the infrastructure. It's like adding horsepower to an engine—AI sits in the background. Just like we wouldn’t advertise something as “Python-powered,” AI becomes a silent enabler in the stack, strengthening and supporting but not changing the narrative.
In the end, what truly counts is whether your product delivers results faster, better, and more affordably—regardless of how it's built.
In today’s AI-saturated era, many of us are feeling fatigue from “AI-powered everything”. Fiverr’s 2024 musical ad captures this sentiment perfectly, essentially shouting, “Let’s get real!”.
?? 01 Key Messaging Angles
As I've researched this topic, two prominent messaging themes stand out across most AI vendors:
a) Immediate productivity gains
How can AI streamline essential tasks like writing ad copy, crafting an RFP proposal, or automating customer support?
This angle resonates strongly with business unit leaders (Heads of ...) who are in the trenches, actively looking for practical ways to boost team efficiency right here, right now. Laser focus on use cases, measurable outcomes, and relatively quick ROI timelines.
b) The Future
How can AI help you streamline key processes to boost margins, and ultimately grow revenue?
The long-term vision of AI-driven digital transformation—what some now call AI-Led Growth or AiLG (Winning by Design, 2024)—is an exciting story to tell, especially when it’s grounded in real-world impact rather than just inspirational talks or flashy slides.
This approach speaks directly to C-level executives, who are driving digital transformation from the top. While this message fits best for up-market deals (longer sales cycles and in-depth legal and compliance checks), the average basket value is substantially higher.
?? 02 Security & ethical themes
Safety and compliance are essential themes woven into every AI brand message. Many vendors lead with taglines that resonate with trust and ethics right from the homepage. Take a look:
领英推荐
The big players are also forming dedicated teams to ensure their AI products are developed with integrity. These initiatives put a human element behind internal AI governance.
?? 03 AI Governance
The future of AI isn’t just a tech debate, it's a political one. Public policy plays a massive role in how AI is developed and regulated. It's a hot topic in Brussels, DC, and around the world.
AI vendors are heavily involved in public policy advocacy, and for good reason. As an AI provider, you need to ensure you are on the right side of the debate. Whether it’s participating in AI safety initiatives or advocating for balanced policies, having a distinct voice in this space builds credibility.
The development of AI affects everyone, and a collective stance is essential to ensure balanced governance. National initiatives such as the AI Safety Institute (UK), AI Now Institute (US), and FARI - AI for the Common Good Institute (EU) are great examples of the public and private sectors working together to shape the future of AI responsibly and ethically.
?? 04 The environmental factor
Training large-scale models like LLMs requires enormous computational resources. With big tech now turning to even nuclear power to sustain the next wave of innovation, AI’s carbon footprint has become a hotter topic.
We’re seeing a movement toward "Green AI"—AI that’s not just powerful but also sustainable.
AI can be a double-edged sword in the fight against climate change. While it has the potential to drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, its energy consumption is a serious consideration. This dual nature of AI should be central to marketing efforts, balancing innovation with responsibility.
Have a look at how DeepL is addressing this, with its eco-data centers:
???05 The human factor
Let’s be honest: There’s a lot of fear around AI, and you can’t ignore it in your marketing.
The human aspect of AI is front and center in most marketing initiatives from big tech.
Look at Salesforce’s Human At The Helm program, which captures research and best practices around human-AI interaction.
Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab covers how AI supports humanitarian efforts, assists people with disabilities, and improves healthcare.
Similar story with Google's People + AI Research initiative.
The human element is ever-present, as it should be. Less robots, more humans. And hopefully a better future.
"Robots need us more than we need them". And this arguably will be the case still for a very long time (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
The playbook for marketing AI products may rely on familiar methods and tools, but the real difference lies in an intense focus on educational marketing and trust building. It's about
a) showing practical use cases of how AI can improve everyday tasks;
b) addressing security and building trust, proving AI as a tool to enhance human capabilities, not replace them;
c) establishing credibility as AI moves into mass adoption.
There's still a long way to go, but it's an exciting time, especially as we, marketers, prove the value of AI in real, everyday applications - from content creation to brainstorming and beyond. ChatGPT may be the tipping point, but we're only scratching the surface.
As Ethan Mollick describes in his Harvard Business Review article, "AI can sometimes be a "consummate bullshitter", capable of producing convincing nonsense. It doesn't know what it doesn't know - an inherent limitation of even the most sophisticated algorithms".
So let's keep humans at the center of AI marketing, and remember that AI serves us, not the other way around.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of my employer.
Director Venture Dev @ Enpal | xEYP
4 个月super insightful Stan, thanks for sharing!