Podcast Summary: Everyday AI Podcast – Ep 722: How to Build a Team of AI-savvy Marketers
Date: February 26, 2026
Host: Jordan Wilson (B)
Guest: Scott Morris, CMO of Sprout Social (C)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the challenges and evolving strategies of building a team of AI-savvy marketers in a rapidly advancing AI landscape. Host Jordan Wilson speaks with Scott Morris, CMO of Sprout Social, exploring how marketing teams can harness AI, the organizational shifts required, lessons learned, and the ongoing need to balance human creativity with automation. The discussion blends hands-on tactics, high-level strategy, and predictions for the near future of AI-enhanced marketing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New Landscape for Marketers

• AI as a Game-Changer:
  • Generative AI and large language models have dramatically expanded what marketers—even entry-level ones—can achieve.
    • "The capabilities have changed and what any even entry level marketer can now do with the right AI tool at the right time... far exceeds what I could have done 10 or 15 years ago." – Jordan (00:16)
• AI in Sprout Social:
  • Scott explains Sprout Social’s journey, from using AI for content suggestions (“AI Assist”) to launching agentic tools (e.g., Trellis) capable of analyzing data and delivering proactive insights.
    • "We have AI Assist that allows you to give prompts and gives you some ideas for social posts... And now we're moving into the age of agentic AI." – Scott (03:06)

2. Building an AI-Savvy Marketing Team

• Start with Experimentation, Then Systematize:
  • Early days were “wild west,” with individual marketers experimenting.
  • Quickly becomes essential to coordinate and establish unified objectives.
    • "Experimentation is great, but try to come up with a clear set of objectives... I created an AI council... to really define the outcomes that we're looking for from AI, and then to encourage and manage and track and report on all of that experimentation..." – Scott (05:17)
• Progress from Content to Outcomes:
  • Shift from simply increasing content output (blog posts, social media) to measuring business outcomes like pipeline impact and conversion rates.
    • “It’s not just about the amount of content... it’s what is the impact on our pipeline or on our conversion rates?” – Scott (07:54)
• Cross-Functional Alignment:
  • It’s vital that AI initiatives involve collaboration between marketing, sales, and product teams to focus on the full customer journey.

3. Metrics & Evaluation: From Chaos to Strategy

• From Siloed Tools to Structured Workflows:
  • Real value arises when AI usage transitions from personal experimentation to standardized, workflow-based adoption incorporating brand guidelines.
    • "How can we actually build systems over time and make sure we have things like our brand voice encoded into everything that we do?" – Scott (08:40)
• Mistakes and Lessons Learned:
  • Mistake: Expecting AI to be an end-to-end solution that delivers perfect output with minimal oversight.
  • Reality: AI is a “middle-to-middle” solution, requiring marketers to skillfully prompt and refine, ensuring outputs fit brand and context.
    • “I thought of AI as being a bit of an end-to-end solution... what I definitely realized is it's more of a middle to middle type of thing with AI.” – Scott (12:20)

4. Skill Building & New Roles in the Age of AI

• Continuous Upskilling:
  • Training in prompt engineering and workflow integration is key to successful AI use.
• New Organizational Roles:
  • Creation of specialized positions to drive AI adoption and workflow innovation:
    • Senior AI and Creative Technology Strategist: Evaluates tools, builds repeatable systems.
    • Director of AI Marketing Transformation: Manages cross-team AI integration.
    • "[We're] creating a bunch of roles within marketing that are very specifically focused on helping the teams better adopt the AI workflow." – Scott (14:29)

5. Democratization and Changed Skill Sets

• Who Can Be a Marketer Now?
  • AI opens marketing to a wider group—especially helpful for small businesses—but cannot fully replace the need for intuition, ideation, and creative breakthrough.
    • "I think there's certainly a lot around intuition... AI can't necessarily replace that." – Scott (19:12)
  • AI is highly effective for certain tasks, but creativity and deep expertise remain irreplaceable in other areas.

6. Avoiding the “AI Slop” – Maintaining Quality & Authenticity

• Quality Control in the Age of Mass AI Content:
  • Challenges of “work slop”—low-quality, repetitive AI-generated content flooding digital channels.
    • “I feel like I'm just drowning in AI work slop sometimes.” – Jordan (21:52)
  • Smart marketers must lean harder into authentic, human-driven content to stand out.
    • “Marketers, creators, brands are also leaning harder into authentic, human driven content because that's actually what audiences value the most.” – Scott (22:12)
• Industry Response:
  • Platforms like Meta and TikTok now label or detect AI-generated material, aiming to uphold transparency and quality.

7. The Rapidly Accelerating Future

• Relentless Pace of AI:
  • Both speakers agree the pace of AI development makes strategic planning difficult.
    • "What will the marketing team look like three years from now? ... six months from now, it's going to be so different." – Scott (24:02)
• The Need for Dedicated Futurist Roles:
  • Having people solely focused on AI’s evolution is essential for staying ahead.
    • "You need to have people who can set aside the brain to be able to do that, because you're never probably going to be able to do it all entirely on your own." – Scott (24:02)

8. Concrete Advice for Decision Makers

• Think Beyond Productivity—Prioritize Outcomes:
  • Don’t just implement AI to increase marketing output; integrate it into cross-functional business outcomes.
    • “You're going to get so much more value... if you don't think of it sort of myopically... and really back it into business outcomes... thinking about how those teams are going to be working together from a customer point of view to deliver better experiences.” – Scott (25:48)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "AI is more of a middle-to-middle type of solution... not just pushing a button for the final output." – Scott (12:20)
• “It's a difficult situation... if you're someone who's been trained to do that and now you have technology that's doing a lot that can do a lot of that for you.” – Scott, on creative AI disruption (14:29)
• “Good marketers know good marketing. And I think that AI can't necessarily replace that.” – Scott (19:12)
• "Social feeds, you could argue, are turning into AI slop, right? We've all seen so much..." – Scott (22:12)
• "[Create] a culture of learning and innovation around AI tooling and be willing to experiment with it. That's super, super important." – Scott (24:02)

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:16 | Jordan shares perspective on marketing’s rapid pace and AI shift| | 03:06 | Scott introduces Sprout’s AI features (AI Assist, Trellis) | | 05:17 | How to build an AI-savvy team – experimentation to objectives | | 07:54 | Moving from content to meaningful business outcomes | | 10:44 | Critical early decisions for AI in marketing teams | | 12:20 | Lessons learned: AI is not end-to-end; need for oversight | | 14:29 | Creating net-new roles focused on AI and creative integration | | 19:12 | Is AI democratizing marketing? Where it does/doesn’t replace humans| | 21:52 | Dealing with “AI slop”—flood of low-quality content | | 24:02 | The relentless pace of AI and need for innovation roles | | 25:48 | Scott’s #1 piece of advice for decision makers implementing AI |

Actionable Takeaways

• Establish governance: Create councils or committees to unite experimentation, define outcomes, and report progress.
• Build systems, not just capacity: Use AI for more than making more content; leverage it for real business results.
• Invest in training: Teaching prompt engineering and integrating brand voice is essential.
• Evolve your org chart: Add roles specifically dedicated to AI adoption and innovation.
• Focus on human authenticity: Use AI as an enabler, not a replacement for creative thinking.
• Stay agile: Dedicate resources to future-proof strategy and stay atop emerging tech.

This episode offers essential guidance for any leader (or marketer) looking to responsibly, effectively, and boldly build teams ready for the demands—and the opportunities—of AI-driven marketing.