Marketing is undergoing some major changes at the hands of AI.
When I last looked for a full-time content writing job in early 2022, I found a few roles that asked for AI experience, but now it seems like every other listing mentions at least one AI program they want you to be a “pro” in.
Beyond that, there are new roles in the marketing center that have AI at the center. Knowing these positions will help you stay ahead of the curve and be competitive in the market.
Who knows, you may even find a new niche that you’ll love.
With that in mind, I’ll go over how AI is impacting marketing jobs, the new AI roles popping up in the industry, and how you can keep up with all of these changes.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
- AI Marketing Jobs Marketing Departments are Investing In
- AI Marketing Role Job Descriptions (+ Examples)
- Training and Certification for AI Jobs
AI Marketing Jobs Marketing Departments are Investing In
While AI marketing jobs exist, it’s important to remember AI tends to be a part of most roles. Research from Microsoft found that 22% of recruiters already say they’re updating job descriptions to reflect the usage of generative AI in roles.
A different study from LinkedIn found that 12% of recruiters are creating new roles tied to generative AI.
To some, these numbers may seem small. However, I see this as a part of a growing trend. ChatGPT was launched to the public in November 2022, bringing the power of generative AI to everyone’s fingertips.
We’re already seeing AI’s widespread adoption impacting jobs. In the next few years, I expect these numbers to grow exponentially.
Right now, companies are focusing on highlighting the skills needed to use these programs. In the future, I expect more and more roles will explicitly mention specific software in their job postings, which will be core to the specified role.
So, even if you don’t see the words “artificial intelligence” in a job post, you may still need to use it (and may do so even more in the future). Keep that in mind as I break down which jobs in marketing use AI the most.
Content Writers With AI Expertise
While you might be worried that AI will replace content writers, we’re quickly finding the opposite is true.
In fact, according to our 2023 AI Trends for Marketers Report, only 4% out of 1,350+ marketing professionals use AI-created content without making any changes. Instead, most are probably working the way I do, using generative AI to develop ideas while editing or rewriting the AI-generated text.
Sydney Lamoureux, content lead at Leadhub, agrees that AI adds a new level of nuance to content creation.
She notes that while the initial “perceived potential of AI made it seem like it could handle anything and drastically speed up our workflows,” like most of us, she realized that AI “requires significant oversight, fact-checking, and prompt refinement to produce high-quality, nuanced content for clients.”
That said, AI speeds up the writing process and, in turn, the rate at which writers like me produce content, which is why business leaders or stakeholders are keen on hiring writers who are well-versed in AI.
Some of the content creation roles that require familiarity or experience with AI include:
- AI Content Writer
- Artificial Intelligence Writer
- AI Writing Specialist
- Editorial Director
- AI Content Marketing Expert
Social Media Experts and Managers
Another big area where marketers are using AI is in their social media marketing campaigns. We found that 31% of marketers used AI to create a social media post.
With AI, social media managers can quickly optimize a single piece of content for multiple platforms. Simply type in a prompt, and you’ll get dozens of engaging hashtags and a post made for every social media platform.
This saves time, which you can then devote to other needle-moving tasks in your daily work life. And it’s that time-saving perk that’s driving more and more business leaders to find managers with AI experience.
Take it from Sascha Hoffmann, an independent lifecycle marketing consultant, who sees that same benefit too.
“If I have a podcast, I can spin out a Twitter (X) thread, a LinkedIn post, a blog post, and an email with a single click/prompt. Prior to AI tools, this process took many hours and even a marketing coordinator or content manager role,” says Hoffmann.
If you’re looking for a new role in social media, keep an eye out for titles like:
- Social Media Manager
- Social Media and Marketing Director
- Social Media Ad Creator
Prompt Engineers to Enhance Customer Experience and Other Areas
This role is a bit marketing-adjacent, but if you have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or data science, this new role is a great blend of creativity and data interpretation.
Prompt engineers help train AI by focusing on machine learning and how they can improve AI tools even further. Essentially, they are training the AI by seeing how they can get the program to return a specific response.
Similarly, we’ve got data training roles. These trainers focus on improving the model the AI software uses, analyzing the data created by the AI, and adjusting the prompts or code until the expected outcome is achieved.
These roles are highly data-driven, but both collaborate to bridge the gap between software and humans. They also generally require some coding knowledge, so keep that in mind.
You might find roles like:
- AI Prompt Engineer
- AI Data Trainer
- Generative Prompt Engineer
- Prompt Engineer
General Content Marketing Roles Leveraging AI to Strategize and Create
I can’t stress enough the overarching benefits AI brings to all marketing teams. AI and automation are slowly seeping into nearly every part of the marketing cycle. In our data, we found:
- 32% of marketers use AI for conducting research
- 45% use AI to learn new things
- 45% use AI to help analyze or report on data
- 48% of marketers use AI to create content
And they’re using AI because it’s working in their marketing strategies. Up to 71% of marketers say AI has produced a positive ROI, while 72% of marketing managers say it’s made their teams more effective at their jobs.
You’ll find several marketing roles that require knowledge in AI like:
- SEO Specialist
- Marketing Coordinator
- Director of Marketing
- Senior Product Marketing Manager
- Marketing Consultant
The takeaway? Realistically, the marketing field isn’t seeing many “AI Marketing Jobs” just yet. Rather, AI is being infused into most marketing jobs, impacting parts of their everyday roles.
AI Marketing Role Job Descriptions (+ Examples)
So, current roles in the field are already shifting, but what about new roles popping up on the market?
In the next section, I’ll share some emerging roles that I’ve noticed gained popularity. I’ll also share what the role entails and their average pay.
1. AI Data Trainer
Generative AI is a powerful tool, creating new copy in a matter of seconds. Every piece of that power was trained on human input.
The system synthesizes data from across the web to create an answer that’s ideally an amalgamation of the internet’s best.
However, we’ve seen that AI can hallucinate, give incorrect information, or fail to strike the right tone. That’s where AI data training comes in, teaching AI systems how to respond and provide helpful, correct content.
To do this, trainers craft prompts for AI systems, monitor the output, and make adjustments to train the model.
People in this line of work need strong communication and analytical skills. You may also need a strong understanding of your employer's brand values and voice.
Below is an AI training job focused specifically on marketing copywriting. Positions in this field may be part-time or full-time.
Average Salary: $51,570
2. AI Content Writer/Editor
I’ve started seeing AI content writing positions open up at companies like Amazon and Braintrust. These roles are very similar to AI data trainers, with a few distinctions.
Content writer roles often require that the employee be able to cover different types of writing. One role from Amazon recommends that applicants have knowledge of a wide range of fields, included by not limited to “computer science, literature, music, mathematics, economics, and travel.”
Beyond that, the role specifies that the employee with be reviewing both human and AI-generated content. They’ll then rank the content by preference, helping train the model further.
AI editors also focus on LLMs’ output. They may be ranking content to drive preference data. They also shape the output before publication to ensure accuracy and a human touch.
Average Pay: $40 an hour
3. Product Marketing Manager
So perhaps you don’t want to live and breathe generative AI. There are still plenty of jobs that sit in the overlap of the AI/marketing Venn diagram. That’s especially true if you have experience in product marketing.
As more AI-driven products pop up on the market, more companies are looking for marketers that can help drive buzz about their offerings. Technical knowledge will help you navigate this role as you translate AI offerings capabilities into campaigns consumers of all levels can understand.
Average Salary: $112,939
4. AI Content Marketing Specialist
Content marketers, there’s no need to sound the alarm! There are still roles that use your creativity and strong writing skills.
Jobs like the AI content marketing specialist role below take your existing talents and apply them to this emerging market.
In these roles, employees tell the story of AI products. They help explain what the offering does, how it makes life easier, and who can benefit. You’ll also have the opportunity to build a content strategy across channels.
Average Salary: This position is still emerging, so average salary information is not widely available. The U.S. average salary for content marketing specialists is $59,518.
5. AI/ML Enablement Content Writer
If you have a background in technical writing, this role may be the perfect fit. AI/machine learning enablement content writers help create the material to enable adoption. That can be consumer-facing or internal to a company.
The role below involves creating training materials to educate employees on how to use AI in their workflows. The job also involves staying on top of product development to communicate changes as they arise.
Average Salary: This position is still emerging, so average salary information is not widely available. The U.S. average salary for technical content writers is $83,301.
Training and Certification for AI Jobs
If you’ve reviewed a few AI marketing job results and feel that you aren’t quite up to the task of meeting all of the requirements, I’ve found a practical solution: certification.
Whether you’re looking for a new AI marketing job or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, getting some more training can help. Here are some of the courses I’d recommend if you want to get started.
1. HubSpot Academy
You’ll find several AI-focused training courses in the HubSpot Academy. My favorites are:
Both of these are free courses that help give a good overview of AI and how it’s used in marketing. You’ll also learn how to use some AI tools, so you’re getting practical applications.
These courses are especially useful if you use any of HubSpot’s tools, like our CRM or CMS. We already use AI in these tools, but you can learn how to make the most of the software by taking some of our training courses.
2. Google Training
Amelia Munday, social media marketer at Custom Neon®, recommends Google’s AI for Marketers courses because “they provide a solid basis for utilizing AI in a variety of marketing contexts, which is extremely relevant to my daily responsibilities.”
Google offers dozens of AI courses, including several with certification options. I recommend trying them out to see if their style appeals to you:
- Machine Learning Crash Course
- Google AI Essentials
- Responsible AI: Applying Principles with Google Cloud
3. GrowthTribe Certification
GrowthTribe offers several AI certification programs. Each program will help you understand how to use AI in your everyday work and offer more specific tips, depending on the course you take.
I like how several of GrowthTribe’s courses focus on marketers who want to gain a more data-focused understanding of AI.
Here are a couple of courses to get you started:
4. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn also offers hundreds of courses, videos, and certificate programs focused on AI. The courses cover every area, from programming to ethics.
Some of LinkedIn’s most popular options include:
While most of these are premium courses, LinkedIn continues to update these courses to ensure they remain relevant. You also get to know exactly when the courses were created, and the ratings are pretty transparent.
Future Proofing Your Marketing Career
AI is creeping into every aspect of the workforce, and if you don’t keep up, you’ll end up falling behind.
So whether you’re looking for an AI marketing job at the beginning of your career or hoping to move into management, keeping up with the trends in this field is a must. And who knows — you may even come up with your own AI marketing initiatives in the process.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
