The Future of Marketing: Upskilling vs. AI Over-Reliance

August 23, 2025. A CMO I trust told me something about AI and marketers that I had to write down word for word. 👇

We were overlooking the Tetons in Jackson Hole and all I could think of was WRITE. THIS. DOWN. HUFFORD.

Here's what the CMO said:

1. When every company has the same AI tooling, the only differentiator will be people.

2. This isn’t cost savings because the best people are expensive!

3. Now is this time to upskill or be left behind.

4. We will not see this type of generational change in work ever again.

Of course Kyle Lacy, the CMO I'm talking about, was ahead of the curve.

But just today, I saw a pretty influential founder saying they'd never hire a VP of Marketing every again because they replaced them with Claude.

We're seeing what a huge mistake that will be in real time.

Leaders - replacing humans purely with AI is going to cost you. We're already seeing it.

IMO, if AI can fully replace anybody on your marketing team, that's a (hiring) skill issue on you. Not some witty indictment on marketers.

Marketers - nows the time to upskill.

Imagine being day one on SEO.

Or social media.

Or email.

Or... the internet.

You've still got time. I know you're drowning in the day to day.

But if you want a defensible career, the bar to being great (and creative) with AI is lower than you think.

#marketing #upskilling #AI #futureofmarketing #marketingstrategy