Pretty sure this is the best issue I’ve written. With the context being, this is only my second issue (cue the laugh track, please). Here’s what’s in store on this fine Tuesday Morning:
🗞️ News That Actually Matters - Who’s Winning at AI, SMBs, or Enterprises?
🎙️ Expert Insight - Canva’s Content Formula to Avoid the “Sea of Sameness”
✅ Quick Win - To Write, Or Not to Write (with AI)
💼 The Future of Work - Jobs vs AI: The Rollercoaster I Didn’t Sign Up For
📣 Word of the Week - I’m not telling you (yet)
🗞️ News That Actually Matters
Agentic AI is emerging in marketing and operations (Jun 27 2025, Vogue Business)
Agentic AI—systems that autonomously set goals and execute tasks—is being tested by brands such as LVMH for internal planning and customer-facing services. It matters because early adopters are showing efficiency gains in campaign ideation, forecasting, and digital clienteling. (voguebusiness.com)
CMOs at Cannes Lions emphasize AI investment and experimentation (Jun 26 2025, Business Insider)
A Cannes Lions panel revealed 71% of CMOs plan to invest over $10M annually in AI, focusing on personalization, workflow automation, and creative innovation—but many still haven’t seen scalable ROI. Useful for B2B marketers looking to justify AI budgets or accelerate pilot programs. (businessinsider.com)
Survey shows small‑to‑mid‑size B2B firms are leading in AI knowledge and success (Jun 25 2025, Demand Gen Report)
Conveyor’s AI adoption report reveals smaller B2B teams are more adept at using AI tools effectively than larger enterprises. This matters because it highlights playbook opportunities and pace advantages for SMB marketers. (demandgenreport.com)
🎙️ Expert Insight
Theresa Marwah from Canva shared something during their recent AI marketing webinar that addresses one of the biggest fears I keep hearing from fellow marketers: The fear? That AI is creating a "sea of sameness." …And well, it is. Just take a scroll through you’re LinkedIn feed or even the AI slop gallery that has become my Instagram FYP.
To avoid this, Canva uses what they call the 70-20-10 content portfolio rule:
• 70% on-brand material (the safe stuff)
• 20% edgy concepts (pushing boundaries)
• 10% experimental ideas (complete wild cards)
BUT that’s only part of the solution. The key is that they are using AI as a brainstorming partner and idea tester, NOT as a replacement for our human creativity.
IRL Evidence: At Canva, an employee-created campaign that was identified through AI-assisted testing became their highest-performing ad across multiple markets.
AI can help bring our best human creative ideas to life faster and cheaper, allowing us to experiment more with everything from minor to major campaign content tweaks or complete overhauls.
This is the Human First ☝🏻→ AI Forward approach in action.
✅ Quick Win
My reaction to reading the first draft of what AI generated when I asked it to write a LinkedIn post "in my voice" with zero context was identical to my response last year on the 4th of July when my dad asked if I'd eaten the last slice of cherry pie:
"Hmm 🤔 …doesn't sound like me…" (It was, in fact, me, plz don’t tell him).
Draft. Iterate. Iterate. Iterate. Don’t start from scratch; start with your humanness.
You won’t see me on here letting AI generate my posts; it just adds to the noise.
I write the post first, then ask AI to suggest ways I can improve it for clarity and fix errors.
This simple method helps me get to the point in my writing faster (clarify) while keeping my personality and voice (my differentiator) intact.
Steal my simple writing editing assistant prompt:
You are my editing assistant. Help improve my writing while keeping my unique voice and personality intact.
When I share my writing, please:
1. Fix grammar, typos, and unclear sentences
2. Suggest clarity improvements that maintain my style
3. Point out repetition or unnecessary words
4. Preserve my personal writing patterns and tone
5. Briefly explain your reasoning for changes
6. Offer options when multiple approaches work
7. Organize feedback in an easy-to-implement way
Here is my text:
[Your text here]
Here are two B2B marketing bonus prompts just for subscribers only:
#1 The Target Audience Clarity Check
Adopt the perspective of my target audience: [insert role/persona].
As you read my content, please identify:
1. Any confusing sections or unclear language
2. Questions you would have while reading
3. Points where you might lose interest or stop reading
Then provide 3 specific, actionable suggestions to improve clarity while preserving my authentic voice and tone.
Focus on highlighting what would genuinely impact your understanding and engagement as this persona, rather than general writing advice.
Here is my text:
[Your content here]
#2 Cut the Fluff
Review my text and help me cut unnecessary content while keeping my brand voice:
1. Flag wordy sentences with simpler alternatives
2. Identify repeated points to consolidate
3. Mark filler words/phrases to remove
4. Show where more direct language works better
Provide before/after examples to demonstrate improvements.
My text:
[Your content here]
💼 The Future of Work
Gif by cbbc on Giphy
"We think that next year, 40% of the people at this conference will have an AI agent and the remaining 60% will be looking for work.” - Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith
Fabulous. Really makes a girl have hope for her future. Can I inform my student loan servicer?
Wait a minute, Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy has something to say: “As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and MORE PEOPLE doing other types of jobs…”
Ok, so there’s hope!
Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy: “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will REDUCE our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company."
…*Sigh. What a roller coaster.
If you’re like me, you’re looking to get off the roller coaster and start future-proofing your career. That’s why I started my newsletter, The AI Curious Marketer, where I recap the most important insights I’ve gained each week (beyond the hypeslopoganda), along the journey of becoming an AI-forward B2B marketer. The motto? Lead with Curiosity. Learn out Loud. Grow Together.
Action: Send this newsletter to someone you know who wants to build real confidence, cut through the noise to make AI work FOR their career, not against it.
P.S. My other, SECRET motto is: “Come for the Insights, Stay for the Personality.”
How are you feeling about the future of marketing careers?
📣 Word of the Week
Model Context Protocol
Definition: A set of rules or guidelines that tells an AI model what to remember and how to behave during a conversation.
For example, when you ask an AI to help edit your writing for clarity without losing personality, the protocol helps it understand your voice, your goals, and how to give feedback that fits your style, not someone else's.
Ok, I’m going to bed now. Can you even believe, I’m so tired I *almost missed an opportunity to use a cherry pie gif. Thank god I remembered at the last minute!
As always, stay Human First → AI Forward.
See you next Tuesday, in your inbox!
Skyler Neal
