The essentials
- AI adoption shapes strategies. Practitioners share stories of experimentation, cautious adoption, and massive investments in artificial intelligence.
- Ethics and governance are important. Companies are prioritizing ethical guidelines and data security in their AI implementations.
- AI drives creativity and efficiency. From content creation to SEO and e-commerce, AI could redefine processes while amplifying human contributions – but that’s not quite there yet.
SAN ANTONIO — The cautionary tale of artificial intelligence implementations continued here in Alamo Land at Optimizely. Opticon in San Antonio.
Marketing and digital experience leaders shared stories of experimentation, governance, and the challenges of scaling AI in regulated environments. Their stories reflect a balance between innovation and pragmatism, reflecting the growing role of AI – even if its growth is more at a turtle’s pace – in shaping the digital experience landscape.
It joins our collection of thoughts from leaders at previous digital experience conferences this year: Adobe, Sitecore and Acquia.
From panic to productivity: the impact of AI on marketing teams
For Izabela Misiorny, marketing director of Improve the sitethe introduction of AI tools like ChatGPT caused initial panic among marketing teams.
“Everyone was a little panicked. It’s like, OK, what’s going on? It definitely disrupts marketing,” Misiorny said. However, attention quickly shifted to how AI could improve creativity and streamline workflows.
“Don’t just sit back and let ChatGPT create the content. Show me where you add value as a marketer – with your creativity, with your humanity,” she said. His team uses AI tools like Claude and Gemini to generate first drafts, but human marketers refine the content to ensure quality and relevance.
Despite this progress, challenges remain. Misiorny stressed the importance of developing formal policies for the use of AI and responding to the increasing complexity of tools such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4). She highlighted the importance of simplifying content and the potential of AI in data analysis, highlighting the benefits of immediate access to data for marketing teams.
Related article: Winning with AI in Marketing: Strategic Steps for CMOs
Building an ethical framework for AI
HAS Ingredientcareful integration of AI underscores their commitment to ethical practices.
“We want to engage with AI in a way that is ethical and sustainable,” said Idania Borrero-Knight, global head of digital marketing planning. The company’s digital council, comprised of IT and marketing leaders, ensures that AI adoption is aligned with organizational values.
“We will not use AI-generated images for anything customer-facing,” Borrero-Knight explained. The council also prioritized guidelines that define acceptable use cases for AI tools, aimed at preventing unauthorized use of creative results and securing sensitive data.
This cautious approach extends to how the team supports its growth. Marketing has grown and its role is to provide scaffolding and processes for the team to succeed. Ultimately, for Ingredion, AI is a way to enhance – not replace – human creativity and collaboration.
Overcoming data silos in e-commerce
For YETIFor the e-commerce team at , the biggest barrier to AI adoption is data integration.
“Our data is spread across many different services,” said Brooks Lyford, senior product manager. Consolidating this data into a unified platform is essential to effectively leveraging AI, but it remains a complex challenge.
Kendra Bones, digital product manager at YETI, highlighted changing consumer expectations.
“I think consumers are going to start to expect new types of digital experiences that are more AI-driven because basic actions like searching on Google have now changed,” she said.
This requires a careful balance between innovation and trust, especially for a luxury brand like YETI. “If customers are scared by AI, it does more harm than good,” Lyford added. “I’m not saying in any way that I’m against it. I’m saying that it’s an obstacle that you have to overcome.”
Beyond integration, the team is exploring the impact of AI on SEO and search. “Real organic search results…it’s going to be very different,” Lyford said. Bones highlighted the need for clean data to ensure AI models accurately interpret user intent.
Related article: Reimagining eCommerce with AI: Fast Transactions, Fun Interactions
Redefining success with AI
Within these organizations, the message is clear: AI is not just a tool but a catalyst for transformation – perhaps. Executives are focused on creating frameworks to ensure AI complements human efforts, whether through content creation, governance, or consumer engagement.
As Misiorny summarizes: AI is a way to amplify what we do, but it needs our humanity to have real impact.
Borrero-Knight added a forward-looking perspective, rooted in consistently achieving value for the business and customers: “We don’t want to put our creative outputs out there… all without any value in return. »