A survival guide for marketing and creative teams in the AI era
AI was meant to be the solution. So why are so many of us stuck in survival mode? This is your team’s guide to navigating AI expectations, adoption, speed, and more. 10 leaders. Actionable insights. Plus, get the creative and marketing perspective. Welcome to Shift Happens.
Bad news: You can’t prompt your way out
For enterprise teams in particular, the stakes of AI are high, and legal, brand, and personal pitfalls are all around.
So that’s why we wanted to talk to teams who are doing it well. It’s an industry-wide challenge and certainly not one you can solve without buy-in from those you collaborate with.
Good news: This guide is full of survival tips for all the biggest AI challenges
How to set realistic AI expectations
Use AI to unlock efficiency and quality without burning out your team.
How to differentiate your creative using AI
Avoid “AI slop” and learn how to use AI to strengthen, not dilute, your brand’s voice.
How to scale capacity strategically
Apply AI where it counts most, freeing time for high-impact creative thinking.
How to move with meaningful speed
Build guardrails that let you ship faster without sacrificing creativity or cohesion.
Insights from teams who know the terrain
“People can’t work and experiment at the same time. We need to lower expectations—not by compromising quality, but by giving people time and space to get used to this technology.”
“It’s less about being an expert in every single tool and feature, and more about building a culture of experimentation on your team.
“The AI ‘wow factor’ can fool people into thinking they’ve created a good end product. We need to move past that–question the output, push it, and squeeze it to get to the really good stuff.”
“As creatives, we’re not only doing work for other teams, we’re guiding how it gets done. What simple operational processes can we speed up? What’s the visionary creative stuff that needs care and attention?"
“It's not about rushing, it's about unblocking. AI can help creative leaders build the conditions for flow, and that’s when we see truly compounding productivity gains.”
“AI is an excellent way to move through ideation and research faster, freeing up time for deep work. But it’s a double-edged sword—junior members might look at the output and say, ‘Seems good enough to me!’”
“Every creative leader has to think about the impact their use of AI could have on customers. It’s an individual choice from company to company, but at a time with little governance and policies, we must play the long game and think about what AI could look like a year from now.”
“Without doing the strategic work of understanding your audience and getting out of your echo chamber, you will inevitably end up creating more of the same.”
“Build depth first, then breadth second with AI as your multiplier. Focus on doing a few things exceptionally well, then use AI to extend that work without burning your team out.”
“Don’t implement AI tools across workflows until you actually know they’ll make you faster. To gather that data, start with a pilot project.”
“People can’t work and experiment at the same time. We need to lower expectations—not by compromising quality, but by giving people time and space to get used to this technology.”
“It’s less about being an expert in every single tool and feature, and more about building a culture of experimentation on your team.
“The AI ‘wow factor’ can fool people into thinking they’ve created a good end product. We need to move past that–question the output, push it, and squeeze it to get to the really good stuff.”
“As creatives, we’re not only doing work for other teams, we’re guiding how it gets done. What simple operational processes can we speed up? What’s the visionary creative stuff that needs care and attention?"
“It's not about rushing, it's about unblocking. AI can help creative leaders build the conditions for flow, and that’s when we see truly compounding productivity gains.”
“AI is an excellent way to move through ideation and research faster, freeing up time for deep work. But it’s a double-edged sword—junior members might look at the output and say, ‘Seems good enough to me!’”
“Every creative leader has to think about the impact their use of AI could have on customers. It’s an individual choice from company to company, but at a time with little governance and policies, we must play the long game and think about what AI could look like a year from now.”
“Without doing the strategic work of understanding your audience and getting out of your echo chamber, you will inevitably end up creating more of the same.”
“Build depth first, then breadth second with AI as your multiplier. Focus on doing a few things exceptionally well, then use AI to extend that work without burning your team out.”
“Don’t implement AI tools across workflows until you actually know they’ll make you faster. To gather that data, start with a pilot project.”
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