There was a time when marketers only feared one thing: budget cuts. But now? It’s AI. It’s smart, fast, eerily polite, and never takes a coffee break. While you’re busy rewriting an email subject line for the twelfth time, ChatGPT just spit out 20 better versions — in a British accent.
So, what’s actually happening to marketing jobs?
The Great Reorg: Fewer Heads, More Bots
Big companies aren’t just “experimenting” with AI anymore. They’re going full robot. JPMorgan built its own ChatGPT-style tool for investment advice. Coca-Cola is using AI for content creation. Even agencies — the places built on billable hours and interns who cry in bathrooms — are swapping out junior roles for algorithms.
The roles feeling the squeeze:
• Copywriters: Mid-level copywriters are watching AI write passable content faster and cheaper. (Keyword: passable.)
• Social Media Managers: Scheduling tools + AI captions = one less person needed to run your brand’s Twitter/X dumpster fire.
• Ad Buyers: Programmatic platforms powered by machine learning are making some media planners feel… obsolete.
The Rise of the Prompt Wizard
Of course, not all marketing jobs are vanishing — they’re evolving. Enter the Prompt Engineer, a job title that didn’t exist two years ago and now pays six figures if you know how to sweet-talk a chatbot.
Other roles getting juiced by AI:
• Performance Marketers who let machine learning run A/B tests while they focus on strategy.
• SEO Specialists using AI to spot trends and auto-generate optimized content briefs.
• Designers who embrace tools like Midjourney or Adobe Firefly to mock up 10 variations in 10 minutes.
It’s less about replacing humans and more about replacing humans who don’t adapt.
The Real Risk? The Middle is Getting Squeezed
AI isn’t coming for the CMO. And it’s not (yet) coming for the barista-turned-junior-marketer who just learned Canva. It’s that sweet middle layer — experienced, moderately paid professionals who used to be the backbone — that’s starting to feel wobbly.
Just ask anyone whose boss recently said, “We’re not hiring another copywriter, we’ve got ChatGPT now.”
Cool. So does your competitor.
So, What Now?
• Upskill: Learn how to use AI before it learns how to replace you. Be the one who guides the robot army.
• Think strategy-first: AI is great at execution, but garbage at nuance, taste, and human insight. For now.
• Brand voice matters more than ever: If everyone uses the same tools, the only thing that differentiates you is style. Which is where your weird, edgy, lovable brand comes in.
Final Thought:
AI won’t kill marketing jobs. But it will kill off lazy, generic marketing — and the people who made it…
AdNauseam
February 3, 2025
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