From Data to Creativity: Shaping Tomorrow's Marketers - A qualitative study exploring the nascent and dynamic interaction between professional marketers and generative AI

Sammanfattning

The nascent technology of generative AI has experienced rapid advancements, and its capabilities extend from those of previous AI. Generative AI is believed to have a transformational impact and is a crucial driver of operational innovation across industries. The technology's capabilities in producing creative output have the potential to transform creative industries previously unchallenged by technology. This has great implications in the marketing domain, an industry generative AI is said to revolutionise. While existing research has explored human-machine interaction, there is limited research on how generative AI interacts with professionals, specifically its implications on professional marketers. Therefore, this study examines how marketers interact with generative AI within their professional role and what factors shape this. A qualitative research method was employed, where semi-structured interviews with 23 professional marketers from different companies and industries constituted the study's focus. The findings revealed that marketers interact with generative AI in three active types of collaboration. These collaborations were seen to be as an idea generator, main content creator or, as an advisor. The study further revealed that there are three factors seen to shape how marketers and generative AI interact, impacting what collaboration occurs. To understand these dynamics, the study presents a conceptual framework developed to illustrate how three shaping factors affect observed collaboration and what outcomes this could have. The framework has the function of a continuous loop where outcomes of collaboration influence the three shaping factors, affecting new types of collaborations. This study contributes to the gap in research at the intersection of generative AI technology, human-machine interaction, and professional roles. Additionally, this study offers valuable insights to practitioners in the field by examining marketers' interaction with generative AI.