AI-forward marketing: Stop playing around and make AI your competitive edge

Look, I’ve been in the marketing game long enough to see countless buzzwords come and go. “Digital transformation”, “omnichannel”, “growth hacking” —you name it. But AI? This isn’t just another marketing fad. This is the biggest shift in how we operate since the internet and smartphones were invented. (Yes, I’ve been a marketer for that long.) 

Here’s the reality check you need: Most marketing leaders are playing small with AI. They’re using ChatGPT to write a few emails or generate some social posts, and they think they’re revolutionizing their business. That’s like saying you’re a professional driver because you can parallel park. 

The hard truth about your marketing operation 

Your marketing team is drowning under the weight of increasing expectations to scale output and impact despite shrinking resources. 

Meanwhile, forward-thinking companies are completely rewiring their marketing operations around AI. They’re not just adding AI to existing workflows, they’re fundamentally redesigning how marketing functions to scale impact without increasing costs or operational burdens. 

And the results? They’re not just saving money. They’re moving faster, targeting more precisely, and scaling their impact without scaling headcount. They’re gaining market share while you’re still debating whether AI is safe to use.  

This isn’t about technology, it’s about operating model innovation

Today’s controversial hot take: Becoming AI-forward is NOT a technology decision. It’s an operating model decision. 

Think about how outsourcing transformed business operations over the past two decades. Companies didn’t just hire a few offshore resources; they completely reimagined their business models, restructured their workflows, and redefined which functions should be in-house versus external. 

AI demands the same level of operational rethinking. 

When you approach AI as merely a technology implementation, you get marginal gains. When you approach it as an operating model transformation, you create exponential advantages that competitors can’t easily replicate. 

The ultimate shortcut: AI-forward managed services 

Here’s what most CMOs don’t realize: You don’t have to build this AI-forward operating model from scratch. The smartest leaders are combining two powerful levers—outsourcing AND AI—to create an immediate step-change in their capabilities.

By partnering with B2B marketing managed services providers who are already AI-forward, you get three massive advantages:

1. Instant access to AI-optimized workflows – Instead of spending 12–18 months redesigning your operations, you plug into systems that have already been reimagined around AI capabilities. 
2. Cost structure transformation – You can immediately shift budget from fixed personnel costs to variable program spend, giving you greater flexibility and improved ROI. 
3. Compressed time-to-value – While your competitors are still figuring out their AI strategy, you’re already executing with AI-powered efficiency. 

Think about it: Why build your own AI-forward marketing operation when you can leverage one that’s already been perfected? It’s like the difference between building your own car from parts versus leasing a Tesla. 

AI-forward vs. AI-enabled: Know the difference 

Let me break this down for you: 

AI-enabled teams: “We use ChatGPT for blog ideas and some email copy! We’re innovative!” 

AI-forward teams: “We’ve systematically evaluated every marketing function to determine where AI creates maximum value, redesigned our workflows to leverage AI strengths, and freed our human talent to focus exclusively on high-impact strategic and creative work.” 

See the difference? One is dabbling. The other is dominating. 

The four-decision framework for AI-forward marketing 

If you’re serious about using AI as a competitive advantage, you need to make four core decisions: 

1. What should remain fully human?

Focus your best people on what AI can’t touch: 

• Creative breakthrough thinking 
• Deep emotional storytelling 
• Strategic vision and campaign architecture 
• Designing customer experience strategies 

2. What should be human-led but AI-assisted?

Deploy AI to supercharge your team’s capabilities: 

• Research synthesis and pattern recognition 
• Audience insight generation 
• Content development and iteration 
• Competitive analysis 

3. What should be AI-led with human oversight? 

Let AI take the wheel while humans navigate: 

• Ad optimization and performance analysis 
• Email personalization and segmentation 
• Content distribution and promotion 
• Predictive analytics and forecasting 

4. What should be fully automated by AI?  

Free your team from the grunt work: 

• Routine reporting and dashboarding 
• Data processing, enrichment and analysis 
• Web development  
• Media buying and bid management 

The double multiplier effect: outsourcing + AI 

Here’s where things get really interesting. When you combine managed services with AI-forward operations, you get a double multiplier effect: 

Outsourcing on its own can improve efficiency by 20–30%. AI on its own can improve efficiency by 30–40%. 

But when you combine them? You’re looking at 50–70% improvements. 

Why? Because AI-forward managed services partners have already: 

• Invested heavily in taskifying, reimagining then automating workflows 
• Tested and refined their AI approaches across dozens of clients 
• Built specialized teams with AI-specific expertise 
• Created governance frameworks that maximize both safety and value 

Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can immediately leverage their expertise and infrastructure to leapfrog the competition. 

Three AI operating models you can implement now 

Depending on your organization’s maturity, you can implement one of these three models with a managed services partner: 

Model 1: Enterprise AI adoption 

For companies with established AI governance: 

• Your organization dictates the AI policy 
• Your partner works within your established frameworks 
• You maintain control while gaining efficiency 

Model 2: Partner-led AI implementation 

For companies wanting to accelerate AI adoption: 

• Your partner defines AI policies based on proven approaches 
• They select and implement appropriate tools
• You benefit from their established AI expertise 

Model 3: Selective AI usage 

For organizations with specific limitations: 

• Your partner can create custom approaches that respect your constraints 
• They implement separate workflows for AI and non-AI processes 
• You maintain compliance while still capturing value 

Innovating your business model, not just your tech stack

The companies winning with AI aren’t just buying new tools. They’re completely rethinking their business model: 

1. They’re shifting from in-house headcount-based scaling to AI-amplified talent 
   By combining managed services with AI, they’re achieving growth without the traditional overhead. 
2. They’re moving from reactive to predictive operations  
   Their partners provide AI-powered insights that anticipate market shifts before they happen. 
3. They’re transforming from fixed to variable cost structures  
   The combination of outsourcing and AI allows them to scale up or down with market conditions. 

This is business model innovation at its core—just like outsourcing transformed how companies structured their operations, AI is forcing a complete rethink of how marketing work gets done. 

The real competitive advantage 

Let’s get real: The true advantage comes from: 

• Speed-to-market: Launching campaigns in days instead of months 
• Personalization at scale: Delivering 1:1 experiences to thousands of accounts 
• Continuous optimization: Making hundreds of micro-improvements that compound 
• Strategic focus: Freeing your best minds to solve your biggest problems 

And here’s what most people miss: You can access ALL of these advantages immediately by working with the right AI-forward managed services partner, rather than spending 12-18 months building them yourself. 

Stop thinking small 

The biggest mistake I see marketing leaders make? They treat AI implementation as a technology initiative rather than a business model transformation. 

This is exactly what happened with outsourcing. Companies that just “added some offshore resources” saw minimal gains. Those that reimagined their entire operating model—what work should be done where, by whom, and how—created massive competitive advantages. 

Now, the smartest companies are applying that same thinking to the combination of AI and managed services. They’re not just dabbling with tools or adding a few offshore resources—they’re completely reimagining how their marketing operates. 

The action plan every CMO needs 

If you’re serious about making this shift, here’s your 30-day action plan: 

Week 1: Evaluate AI-forward managed services partners  

• Assess their AI maturity and capabilities 
• Review their case studies and results 
• Understand their AI governance approach 

Week 2: Define your hybrid operating model  

• Determine which functions stay in-house vs. partner-led 
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities 
• Design your new cost structure with more program spending 

Week 3: Develop a transition plan  

• Create knowledge transfer framework 
• Establish communication protocols 
• Design new internal team structure 

Week 4: Set up a measurement framework  

• Establish baseline metrics 
• Define success criteria 
• Create regular reporting cadence 

The future belongs to the decisive 

In five years, every marketing organization will be AI-forward. The only question is whether you’ll be a leader or a laggard. 

The companies making bold moves now aren’t just implementing technology—they’re innovating their entire business model. They’re combining the power of managed services with AI to create immediate competitive advantages. 

So stop dabbling. Stop treating AI as just another tool in your tech stack. And stop thinking you have to build everything yourself. 

The future of marketing belongs to leaders who recognize that the fastest path to AI-forward operations is through partners who have already done the hard work of reimagining marketing for the AI age. 

The decision is yours. But the clock is ticking. 

Stop playing small and start scaling with AI 

Adding more headcount, agencies, and freelancers only multiplies your overhead, without guaranteeing better results. With 2X, you gain a global partner that’s already innovating on the operating model for marketing. Our subscription-based, AI-forward MaaS approach means you keep your team lean, focus on high-impact strategy, and confidently hand off execution to experts who deliver measurable outcomes. 

Whether you need campaign execution, content production, MarTech optimization, or full-scale marketing operations, 2X provides scalable solutions that drive marketing success.