Best of LinkedIn: AI in B2B Marketing CW 19/ 20

Marketers are urged to anchor AI initiatives in authority and transparency, not click-chasing, as search engines pivot toward answer-based results

Clear roadmaps linking AI spending to measurable commercial outcomes are gaining favour; disciplined prompting and high-quality inputs surfaced as non-negotiables

Surveys reveal uneven adoption across functions and sizeable skills gaps –highlighting education as the next big bottleneck

Industry forums (e.g., AI for B2B Marketers Summit) are focusing on codifying best practices and establishing shared performance benchmarks

OpenAI signalled a formal move into advertising, foreshadowing AI-driven media buying and creative optimisation at scale

Bloomreach launched Autonomous Marketing Agents designed to self-configure campaigns across its commerce suite

Practitioners benchmarked multiple LLMs, citing GPT-4 for high-stakes tasks while exploring specialist models for cost or speed advantages

Early tests of ChatGPT-powered search and recommendation experiences hint at disruptive shifts in traditional SEO economics

Hyper-personalisation programmes in GCC markets reported double-digit ROI gains, underscoring AI’s revenue-lifting potential

Sales teams are shifting from retrospective dashboards to predictive pipelines via automated data models and lead-scoring algorithms

Voice-AI dialers proved effective in engaging prospects instantly, lifting conversion without extra headcount

Case studies stressed the role of human validation and change management in realising AI/ML pipeline accuracy and sales adoption

Generative AI now demands richer context prompts to produce brand-safe, long-form assets; prompt-engineering skills are becoming core

Publishers and marketers are pivoting from SEO to Artificial Intelligence Optimisation (AIO) to secure visibility in AI-generated answer boxes

Hybrid human-AI workflows are emerging, blending creative narrative with machine-speed iteration to compress production cycles

Events such as AI WEEK Milan highlighted immediate, pragmatic applications for AI-assisted content creation

CMOs consistently overestimate in-house AI competency, driving demand for targeted upskilling and “AI product-manager” roles

Signal-engineering and prompt-design positions are being embedded within marketing operations to maintain output quality

Agencies are repositioning around AI literacy to defend relevance and unlock new advisory revenue streams

Change-management narratives emphasise the need for clear governance to balance automation with human oversight