营销和传播中的人工智能 ： 也能提高生产力和创造力 ？

AI in Marketing & Communications: Boosting Productivity—and Creativity, Too? The recent emergence of AI, especially generative AI, providesmarketing and communications teams with new opportunities whilealso posing new risks. This benchmarking report, based on a surveyof marketing and communications professionals by The ConferenceBoard in collaboration with Ragan Communications, showswidespread AI use and experimentation, though there are concerns.Our survey shows that expectations about AI’s impact on creativityare positive overall, although some do voice more pessimistic views. Insights for What’s Ahead •For marketers and communicators, AI currently serves mostly as aproductivity enhancement tool.Usesinclude summarizing content, doingthe legwork/inspire thinking, and producing content faster, freeing up timefor strategy and creative work. Half of our survey respondents say AI willhelp in future product and services innovation. Just 16 percent see AI ashaving a negative impact. •While they anticipate productivity, learning, financial, and innovationbenefits as familiarity with AI use grows, marketers andcommunicators are less certain about its impact on work quality andcreativity. On the downside, 40 percent see AI as having a negativeimpact on jobs in their function. Just 4 percent see a positive job impact. •Midlevel/junior marketers are at the forefront of adopting AI in theirwork, ahead of senior marketers, positioning them to shape the adoptionand evolution of AI within their organizations. Compared to their juniorpeers and their communications colleagues, senior marketers are moreoptimistic about AI improving innovation, work quality, and creativity in thefuture. •Misinformation/lack of accuracy, legal uncertainties, and data securityare marketers’ and communicators’ top AI concerns, suggestingcautious use and the need to be prepared to manage increased risks.As AI and regulations develop, the level of concern is likely to decline. •Most marketers and communicators are currently using a self-taughtapproach to learning AI,but in this rapidly evolving field, professionalscould benefit from organized peer and knowledge exchange groups. AI’s Current Use Serves Mostly Productivity Goals But AlsoHas Potential for Strategy Input Figure 1 AI is widely used, including for experimentation, by 87 and 85 percent ofmarketing and communications professionals, respectively, for at least oneapplication. While marketing professionals use AI more for personalization andcustomer service, communications professionals use it more frequently forcontent and image creation. •AI serves mostly as a productivity tool, freeing up time for strategy and creative work. Ultimately, AIcan aid product innovation by supporting idea exploration and providing input. Figure 2 Mid-level/junior professionals see AI even more as a productivity enhancementtool than their senior colleagues. The latter use AI more as a research tool,presumably to explore topics and gather input for more strategic projects. Productivity Is the Most Widely Anticipated Benefit of AI, WhileImpact on Work Quality and Creativity Remains Uncertain Figure 3 Communicators and marketers agree on the future benefits of AI forproductivity, learning, financial results, and innovation—and on the negativeimpact on the number of jobs. But they are more divided on how AI mightchange creativity and work quality. Human intelligence, supplemented by AI,might be synergistic and help elevate creativity—if creatives can find ways toleverage AI as an assistant. Figure 4a Senior marketers are most optimistic about AI improving innovation, work quality,and creativity—compared to their junior peers and communications colleagues.This might be due to their expectations of AI tools inspiring thinking by helping withresearch and by generating output that can trigger ideas. Figure 4b Senior and junior communicators are more aligned in their opinions, anticipatingmore positive quality and creativity effects from AI than negative ones. Marketers Currently Make Greater Use of AI Compared toCommunicators Figure 5 While 60 percent of communicators have embraced AI in their daily work,including to generate content and images, marketers’ greater adoption (68percent) may reflect the more established use of AI for customer-facingapplications such as personalization and customer service. Figure 6 Mid-level/junior marketers are at the forefront of adopting AI in their work,ahead of senior marketers, positioning them to help shape the evolution andadoption of AI in their organizations. Data Source Quality and Legal and Data Privacy Concerns Callfor Cautious Use of AI and Greater Risk Management Figure 7 Misinformation, legal uncertainties, and data security are marketers’ andcommunicators’ top AI worries, suggesting careful use and the need to mitigateincreased risks. •Communicators voicing a need to enhance their AI expertise might make them open fororganized AI-focused lea