If you're anything like me, AI has quietly become part of your working day.

I use it to help structure ideas, sense-check copy, summarise lengthy documents, brainstorm headlines and occasionally rescue me from staring at a blank page. It saves time, removes some of the more repetitive tasks and, when used well, makes me more productive.

But that's just it… when it's used well.

That was one of the biggest takeaways from the recent Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) member webinar, How to Move from AI Adoption to AI Advantage, led by AI course director Imran Farouk.

Most of us have already adopted AI in one way or another. The real challenge isn't whether we're using it. It's whether we're using it in a way that genuinely makes a difference.

Using AI isn't a strategy

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of new technology.

One person is using ChatGPT. Someone else has Microsoft Copilot. Another colleague is experimenting with AI agents.

Before long it sounds like everyone is embracing AI.

But simply using AI doesn't automatically improve your marketing.

I've seen businesses proudly announce they've invested in AI, yet when you look a little closer, everyone is using different tools, in different ways, for different reasons. There's no consistency, no shared approach and no real understanding of whether any of it is delivering better results.

It reminds me of businesses saying they "do marketing" because they post on social media.

Activity and strategy aren't the same thing.

Start with the problem, not the technology

One point from the webinar really resonated with me.  Instead of asking "Which AI tool should we buy?"

Start by asking "Where are we wasting time?"

Where are people repeatedly creating similar documents?

Which reports take hours to compile?

Which customer questions come up again and again?

Which marketing tasks are repetitive but still require consistency?

Once you understand the problem, choosing the right AI solution becomes much easier.

Too often businesses start at the other end.

Experience still matters

Every time AI hits the headlines there's another debate about whether it will replace marketers.

Personally, I don't think that's the right question.

AI is brilliant at processing information, producing first drafts and generating ideas.

What it can't do is understand your customers in the way you do.

It doesn't know your business history.

It can't read between the lines in a client meeting.

It doesn't understand office politics, commercial relationships or why one sentence feels right while another doesn't.

That's where experience comes in.

In many ways, AI makes experienced marketers even more valuable because they're better placed to challenge, refine and improve what the technology produces.

Don't give up too soon

Another interesting concept discussed during the webinar was the AI "J-Curve".

When we first start using any new technology, we often become less productive before we become more productive.

We've all experienced it.

You spend twenty minutes writing prompts.

You rewrite half the output.

You wonder why you didn't just do it yourself.

It's tempting to decide AI isn't worth the effort.

But that's often just the learning curve.

Like any new skill, it takes time before the benefits outweigh the frustration.

Measure what actually matters

One question every business should be asking is "What difference is AI actually making?"

Not because it's fashionable.

Not because everyone else is doing it.

But because every investment should deliver value.

That value might be:

• Faster campaign delivery.
• More time spent on strategic work.
• Better quality reporting.
• Improved customer communications.
• More consistent marketing.

The important thing is knowing what success looks like before you start.

Otherwise, it's impossible to know whether AI is genuinely helping or simply keeping everyone busy.

The biggest opportunity isn't the technology

For me, the webinar reinforced something I've been thinking for a while.

The businesses that will get the most from AI won't necessarily be the ones with the biggest budgets or the latest software.

They'll be the ones that take a step back and ask better questions.

Where can AI genuinely make life easier?

Which tasks really need human expertise?

How do we free up our people to spend more time adding value rather than ticking boxes?

That's where the real opportunity lies.

AI isn't replacing good marketing.

It's giving good marketers more time to do what they do best.