Hey, marketers in the loop.

Earlier this week, I had the chance to attend the Axios AI+ Summit in San Francisco, where I heard from some truly inspiring industry leaders like Bret Taylor (Chairman of OpenAI and Founder of Sierra) and Mike Krieger (Instagram co-Founder, now leading product at Anthropic). But the real highlight for me was learning about the Earth Species Project, a groundbreaking initiative using AI to decode animal communication. My daughter recently asked if we’d ever be able to talk to dogs, and as I write this, I just remembered—I owe her an update! 😊

I'm wishing you peaceful holidays filled with rest, joy, and maybe a few good books (I've shared my favorites below). While I'm offline until January 4th, feel free to chat with my experimental AI clone for anything AI and marketing - it's been trained on Marketer In The Loop content and is ready to help via message or voice. Here's to unplugging, recharging, and starting 2025 with fresh energy and perspective.

Cheers,

Rei

In this issue:

• 2024 recap

• Best books I read this year

• BCG’s blueprint for AI-powered marketing

• And much more

Reading time: 10 minutes

MY FAVORITE FINDS THIS WEEK

Industry News

▪️The Verge did a recap of the biggest AI moments of the year (The Verge)

▪️OpenAI saved its biggest news for the final two days of Shipmas: ChatGPT evolved from a conversational assistant to an agentic tool for seamless task collaboration across apps, alongside the announcement of o3, the successor to its earlier o1 “reasoning” model (OpenAI, TechCrunch, Tom’s Guide)

▪️Just like OpenAI, Google has been making waves in the AI space with a series of major announcements this month, including the recent launch of its new "reasoning" AI model (Google, TechCrunch, Tom’s Guide)

▪️Accenture boss Julie Sweet met 30 global CEOs in the past 2 months, and nearly all of them are scrambling to roll out more AI (Fortune)

▪️Oreo owner Mondelez taps AI to tweak its classic snacks (The Wall Street Journal)

Industry Reports

▪️MUST READ: The blueprint for AI-powered marketing (BCG)

▪️Navigating the AI frontier: A primer on the evolution and impact of AI agents (World Economic Forum & Capgemini)

Practical Tips

▪️Google’s favorite AI tips of 2024: mastering all Google AI apps (Google)

▪️Prompt library starter kit for B2B marketers (Andy Crestodina)

▪️7 ways to write better ChatGPT prompts - and get the results you want faster (ZDNET)

▪️Turn videos into LinkedIn posts using AI agents (Dharmesh Shah)

▪️AI Agents directory to help find and deploy enterprise-ready AI solutions (AI Agents Directory)

Thought Leadership

▪️Marketers are innovating by using AI agents to integrate data interpretation with instant execution (Digiday)

▪️19 Forbes Business Council members offer suggestions on how companies can incorporate AI into their processes more effectively and efficiently in 2025 (Forbes)

▪️AI agents can empower human potential while navigating risks (World Economic Forum)

▪️What just happened - A transformative month rewrites the capabilities of AI (Ethan Mollick)

▪️AI agents and the RaaS revolution (Results as a Service) - Because people don't want drills, they want holes (Dharmesh Shah)

DEEP DIVE

2024 Recap: The Hype vs. Reality of AI in Marketing

2024 was a year of bold promises for AI in marketing. From content creation to personalization and campaign optimization, AI tools promised to revolutionize how brands interact with customers. But as the year unfolded, the gap between expectations and real-world outcomes became clear. In this recap, leveraging insights from the Hype vs. Reality Index, we analyze the key trends that shaped AI in marketing throughout 2024, contrasting the initial excitement with measurable outcomes.

1. Content Creation

2024 marked the transition of generative AI from an experimental tool to a practical solution for marketing creativity for most. Early in the year, the Hype vs. Reality Index for content creation stood at 59.25, reflecting lofty expectations as marketers envisioned AI generating high-quality, autonomous content to reduce costs and accelerate workflows. Tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney became staples for text and image generation, but video and audio capabilities remained underdeveloped.

By December, the Index rose to 68, underscoring meaningful progress. It became evident that generative AI excelled as a collaborative tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. The technology boosted ideation, content creation, and scalability, but human oversight was essential for ensuring quality, originality, and brand alignment. While video capabilities improved, skilled guidance was still required to achieve professional results.

Key Insights:

• Generative AI as a Partner: Generative AI excelled as a collaborative tool that augments human creativity. It enabled marketers to experiment, generate ideas, and scale campaigns faster than ever before.

• Efficiency vs. Authenticity: While AI improved efficiency and cut costs, maintaining authenticity and originality required human input, especially for high-stakes creative endeavors.

• Expanded Modalities: Video capabilities grew significantly, marking an important step forward, but required expertise to unlock their full potential.

• Adoption Trends: Adoption broadened beyond early adopters, with industries recognizing AI's value in streamlining repetitive tasks and enhancing creativity.

Looking Ahead: Generative AI reshaped marketing creativity in 2024, but it remains a complement to human talent. With further advancements in multimodal tools, 2025 promises even greater possibilities. 

2. Personalization

Personalization technologies began 2024 with a Hype vs. Reality Index of 62.25, highlighting enthusiasm tempered by challenges like fragmented data systems and scalability. Marketers envisioned real-time, hyper-targeted campaigns powered by AI, but operational hurdles and privacy concerns slowed progress.

By year’s end, the Index rose to 70.25, reflecting maturity and expanded adoption. AI-powered platforms delivered real-time, cross-channel personalization, particularly for mid/large-sized businesses. Marketers began realizing ROI through better customer engagement and retention. However, smaller businesses continued to face resource and cost barriers.

Key Insights:

• Personalization Matures: AI advancements allowed for real-time personalization across email, web, mobile, and in-store channels, helping brands deliver seamless experiences.

• Broader Adoption: Mid/large-sized businesses increasingly embraced personalization technologies, but smaller businesses remained hesitant due to cost and skill gaps.

• Privacy Remains a Concern: Data privacy concerns, amplified by evolving regulations, continued to shape personalization strategies and tools.

• Proven ROI: Companies with strong first-party data strategies achieved measurable ROI, solidifying personalization as a key driver of customer retention and loyalty.

Looking Ahead: In 2024, personalization became indispensable for customer-centric marketing. In 2025, democratized tools and innovative strategies could allow even smaller businesses to participate in the personalization revolution. 

3. Campaign Optimization

In 2024, campaign optimization tools achieved a Hype vs. Reality Index of 61.75, indicating significant anticipation paired with notable practical challenges, especially for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). While AI-driven tools promised better ROI, smarter budget optimization, and streamlined multi-channel strategies, their complexity and resource-intensive nature posed barriers to widespread adoption. For many, these tools were seen as accessible primarily to enterprises with the technical expertise to leverage them effectively.

By December, the Index rose to 69.75, signaling meaningful progress. Campaign optimization platforms matured to offer real-time targeting, autonomous optimizations, and more intuitive workflows. Pre-built integrations reduced the technical burden, enabling mid-sized businesses to access and benefit from these solutions. Despite these advancements, smaller organizations continued to struggle with costs and the expertise required to implement these tools effectively.

Key Insights:

• Mature Tools: AI-driven campaign optimization platforms significantly improved, offering seamless real-time adjustments, better targeting, and measurable ROI.

• Simplified Workflows: Pre-built integrations and user-friendly interfaces lowered the technical barriers, especially for mid-sized organizations.

• Proven ROI: Large enterprises and mid-sized businesses realized notable improvements in efficiency and ROI, particularly through better ad spend allocation and reduced inefficiencies.

• Adoption Challenges: While adoption grew among mid-sized businesses, smaller companies faced financial and technical hurdles, limiting widespread implementation.

Looking Ahead: Campaign optimization tools are expected to become even more accessible in 2025. With continued advancements in AI blending automation with creativity, marketers will likely see improved efficiency and campaign quality. Efforts to democratize these tools could help SMBs overcome adoption challenges and fully unlock their potential. 

4. AI Agents for Marketing

At the start of 2024, the Hype vs. Reality Index for AI agents in marketing stood at 52.25, reflecting their status as an emerging but underdeveloped technology. Early use cases for AI agents were largely confined to basic automation tasks like chatbots and lead qualification. While these tools showed potential, their practical application for broader marketing strategies was limited, requiring significant expertise and delivering minimal ROI outside niche scenarios.

By December, the Index rose to 66.25, signaling notable advancements. Given broader industry developments and announcements, AI agents are rapidly evolving into more capable tools beyond customer support use cases. Pre-configured templates and integrations will help to simplify implementation, making AI agents more accessible in 2025. However, companies of all sizes continue to face barriers in adopting AI agents due to technology limitations, cost and expertise gaps.

 Key Insights:

• Expanded Capabilities: AI agents are maturing from basic automation tools to advanced solutions capable of handling entire workflows.

• Simplified Implementation: Pre-configured templates and seamless integrations in the future will reduce complexity of adoption, enabling businesses to deploy AI agents more easily.

• Proven Results: Tangible ROI was realized in areas like customer support and lead nurturing, showcasing how AI agents could improve efficiency and engagement.

• Cautious Optimism: While media and industry sentiment grew more positive, skepticism about the full autonomy of AI agents and their ability to make decisions persisted.

Looking Ahead: AI agents began their transition in 2024 from speculative technology to practical tools with clear value. In 2025, advancements in autonomous decision-making and real-time optimization are expected to accelerate adoption, expanding AI agents’ role in marketing strategies across industries. As these tools continue to evolve, they could become indispensable for businesses seeking to automate complex workflows while maintaining a high level of customer engagement. 

5. Ethics and Responsible AI

Early in 2024, Ethics and Responsible AI had a Hype vs. Reality Index of 56.25, reflecting growing awareness but inconsistent implementation. Conversations focused on bias, transparency, and accountability, but operationalizing responsible AI practices remained a challenge. Larger organizations led the charge, while smaller firms struggled with resource and cost constraints.

By December, the Index climbed to 67.25, as tools and frameworks for responsible AI matured. Bias detection, explainability, and regulatory compliance improved, driven by public demand and tighter regulations. Success stories demonstrated how responsible AI could improve trust and performance, particularly in industries like healthcare and finance.

Key Insights:

• Operational Challenges: Formalizing ethics policies improved, but many businesses struggled to fully operationalize responsible AI practices.

• Regulation as a Catalyst: Regulatory pressures played a key role in driving adoption of responsible AI practices, particularly among large enterprises.

• Adoption Gaps Persist: While larger organizations embraced responsible AI, smaller businesses struggled with cost and expertise barriers, slowing widespread adoption.

• Shifting Sentiment: Media and industry sentiment turned optimistic as organizations demonstrated measurable progress in addressing ethical concerns.

Looking Ahead: In 2024, responsible AI transitioned from theoretical discussions to practical applications. In 2025, adoption is expected to grow across all business sizes, driven by regulations and customer expectations for transparency. 

The Reality Behind the 2024 AI Revolution

2024 was a pivotal year for AI in marketing, showcasing its potential while revealing its limitations. The year highlighted the importance of balancing innovation with practical implementation - and ethical considerations. By focusing on actionable use cases and change management best practices, marketers can turn the hype into long-term value. As we move into 2025, these lessons will shape the future of marketing, bridging the gap between vision and real impact.

RESOURCES

Top 10 Books I Read This Year

I’m constantly on the lookout for books that spark new ideas, challenge my thinking, and help me stay ahead of trends. This year, I dove deep into topics like leadership, human behavior and, of course, artificial intelligence.

Here are the top 10 books I read (or reread) in 2024 that I highly recommend:

1. AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference (Buy on Amazon)

By Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor

Narayanan and Kapoor cut through the hype around AI with refreshing clarity. Their book feels like having a smart friend explain which AI tools are genuinely useful and which ones are just fancy marketing. They give you practical ways to spot the difference, grounding their insights in real examples that help you make smarter decisions about AI adoption.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants a nuanced, evidence-based understanding of AI’s true potential and limitations.

2. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI (Buy on Amazon)

By Ethan Mollick

Instead of diving into doom-and-gloom scenarios about AI replacing humans, Mollick shows us what's possible when we work alongside AI. Through fascinating stories from classrooms to boardrooms, he reveals how AI can enhance our natural abilities rather than compete with them. The book reads like a practical guide to making AI your collaborator rather than your replacement.

Recommended for: Leaders, creatives, and professionals looking to embrace AI as a partner for innovation and growth. If you are starting your AI journey, this is the book for you.

3. Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation (Buy on Amazon)

By Kevin Roose

Roose takes a practical approach to living in an automated world, focusing on distinctly human qualities like curiosity, empathy, and creativity. He breaks down complex ideas about human-machine coexistence into clear, actionable guidance. His storytelling style makes the subject matter accessible without oversimplifying the challenges ahead.

Recommended for: Anyone concerned about staying relevant and adapting to the rapid pace of technological change.

4. Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI (Updated + expanded version) (Buy on Amazon)

By Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson

The authors dig into the sweet spot where human intuition meets machine intelligence. Through real-world examples, they show how companies are finding creative ways to blend human and AI capabilities. Their concept of the "missing middle" - where humans and machines complement each other - offers a practical blueprint for rethinking how work gets done.

Recommended for: Business leaders and managers exploring how to integrate AI into their operations while keeping the human element central.

5. Leading Change (Buy on Amazon)

By John P. Kotter

While not specifically about AI, Kotter's classic on organizational change feels more relevant than ever. His eight-step approach breaks down the messy process of transformation into manageable pieces. The book is packed with war stories from the trenches of corporate change, making abstract concepts feel concrete and actionable.

Recommended for: Executives, managers, and team leaders driving AI transformation in fast-paced or complex environments.

6. Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business (Buy on Amazon)

By Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput

The authors bridge the gap between marketing and AI, offering a roadmap for how marketers can harness AI to reinvent processes, improve customer insights, automate repetitive tasks and much more. Packed with case studies and practical tips, this book demystifies AI’s role in modern marketing.

Recommended for: Marketing professionals at all levels who want to embrace AI tools without the technical jargon.

7. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (Buy on Amazon)

By Yuval Noah Harari

The author of Sapiens explores how information networks have shaped human societies throughout history. Harari examines the evolution of communication—from early oral traditions and myths that enabled large-scale cooperation, to the development of writing systems and religious texts that structured societies, and finally to the digital age where AI-driven information networks are transforming human interaction.

Recommended for: Anyone looking for a thought-provoking and context-rich understanding of how humans have evolved to where we are today, plus the challenges and negative aspects of AI.

8. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard (Buy on Amazon)

By Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The Heath brothers tackle the thorny problem of change with memorable metaphors and engaging stories. Their elephant-and-rider framework makes complex psychology accessible, showing why change often fails and how to make it stick. This book feels particularly relevant for anyone trying to introduce AI into resistant organizations.

Recommended for: Leaders, marketers, and change-makers looking to implement change that sticks.

9. The AI Marketing Canvas: A Five-Stage Roadmap to Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Marketing (Buy on Amazon)

By Raj Venkatesan and Jim Lecinski

This book provides a step-by-step framework for marketing teams looking to integrate AI into their strategies. The authors guide readers through a structured approach, from assessing readiness to implementing and scaling AI solutions effectively. With actionable insights and real-world examples, it’s a must-read for marketing leaders.

Recommended for: Marketers who want to go beyond experimentation and dive deeper into AI applied to marketing.

10. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma (Buy on Amazon)

By Mustafa Suleyman

Suleyman writes with the insight of someone who's been in the room where AI decisions are made (ex-Google and currently leads AI at Microsoft). He examines how AI and biotech are converging to reshape society, raising tough questions about power and responsibility. Rather than just pointing out problems, he offers concrete ideas for managing these technologies thoughtfully.

Recommended for: Leaders and policymakers grappling with the ethical and societal implications of breakthrough technologies.

Each of these books has shaped my understanding of leadership, technology, and the future of work and marketing. Whether you’re looking to lead through change, harness the power of AI, or simply broaden your perspective, these titles offer valuable lessons and insights to guide your journey.

ICYMI

▪️AI Agents Will Make Your AI More Useful

▪️How to Choose the Right AI Tool for Your Marketing Needs

▪️Agency (Or Other Partners) Using AI? Here's What You Need to Know

▪️AI And Copyright: A Quick Marketing Guide

▪️How to Minimize AI Hallucinations

▪️Creating an AI Policy That People Will Actually Follow

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