The Future of Marketing: AI-Driven Content Creation
Where AI Works: Conversations at the Intersection of AI and IndustryShow Notes
Media, entertainment, and advertising are among the industries expected to be most impacted by the rise of artificial intelligence. So what better way to kick off our series on the intersection of AI and business than by exploring the potential perks and pitfalls of AI in the world of marketing? In this premiere episode of Where AI Works, host Kartik Hosanagar is joined by Jonathan Halvorson, the Global SVP of Consumer Experience at Mondelēz International, which owns some of the most recognizable brands in snacking, including Oreo, Nabisco, and Cadbury. Together, they discuss how AI is transforming marketing and brand strategy, and explore some of the most pressing issues for business leaders, like the role of humans in the loop, and fears that AI could lead to more generic content. You’ll also hear specific case studies and concrete advice to help your organization steer clear of what Jonathan calls that “sea of sameness.”
Episode Highlights:
7:40 - Kartik explains how AI isn’t just about reducing costs but can actually lead to more compelling ad content and better outcomes.
14:23 - Jonathan stresses the importance of clearly defining a brand’s identity before utilizing AI tools, including the product’s visual elements, purpose, and core messaging.
17:14 - Jonathan shares details on a hugely successful Mondelēz campaign in India in which AI was used to generate personalized birthday songs for consumers.
More from Where AI Works: Conversations at the Intersection of AI and Industry
What happens when AI stops being a tool and starts reshaping how decisions get made? Who has the judgment and responsibility to double-check the work that AI is doing? And what actually separates companies that are scaling AI from those that are just experimenting?
If AI removes traditional constraints on execution, what becomes the limiting factor? AI can now generate, summarize, and analyze, but it still can’t judge. And as many business leaders are learning, that can cause a new wrinkle in workflows.
How is AI transforming product development inside large-scale organizations? What does it look like when teams move from Product Requirements Documents to rapid prototyping? And how are roles, workflows, and decision-making changing in our increasingly AI-first world? On this episode of Where AI Works, host Matthew Bidwell sits down with Paul Stathacopoulos, Vice President of Product for Focus Categories and International Cross Border Trade at eBay, to find out how AI is reshaping the way products are built and delivered inside one of the world’s largest online marketplaces. Together, they explore how eBay is using AI across three key areas: improving customer-facing experiences, unlocking insights from massive datasets, and fundamentally transforming product development workflows. They also discuss the shift from traditional PRDs to rapid, AI-generated prototypes, and how “vibe coding” is enabling teams to test ideas with customers in a period of days instead of months. Finally, they unpack how AI is blurring roles across product, design, and engineering, and why adopting an AI-first mindset is critical to staying competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
It’s a question that looms large for any business leader these days, but the stakes are even higher for those that manage massive workforces: as AI transforms the workplace, what happens to jobs and the people doing them? On this episode of Where AI Works, host Matthew Bidwell speaks with Donna Morris, the Chief People Officer at Walmart, about what it means to introduce AI across one of the largest workforces on the planet; more than 2.1 million associates around the world. Morris explains the company’s “people-led, tech-powered” approach, where AI is used to augment employees rather than replace them. She also discusses the emergence of new roles like AI agent-builders , and explores the skills that matter most in an AI-driven workplace. While technical expertise is important, Morris argues that adaptability, communication, curiosity, and interpersonal skills will define the most successful employees in the years ahead. For leaders navigating this rapid change, the takeaway is simple: invest in people, build new skills, and be sure to bring your workers along for the ride.
The way we think about jobs is changing. As artificial intelligence reshapes how work gets done, traditional roles and titles are giving way to something more fluid: a skills-based economy. But while organizations are moving quickly to redefine what they need, workers and educators are still catching up, creating a growing gap between the skills people claim to have and the capabilities employers truly value.