Podcast Title: Marketing Operators
Episode: E067: How Marketers Should Actually Be Using AI, with the Boring Marketer
Release Date: July 8, 2025
Hosts: Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, Cody Plofker
Guest: Boring Marketer (Connor Rolain)

Introduction

In Episode E067 of Marketing Operators, the hosts—Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, and Cody Plofker—welcome a special guest from the Boring Marketer team, renowned for his insightful presence on Twitter. The episode delves into the practical applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in e-commerce marketing, exploring how marketers can effectively integrate AI tools to enhance their strategies and workflows.

Guest Background

Connor Rolain provides an extensive background on his journey within the marketing and startup ecosystem:

"I've been building startups and doing marketing work since around 2011." [05:28]

He describes transitioning from performance marketing to growth consulting and eventually co-founding Boring Marketer with Greg Eisenberg. Initially focused on SEO and organic growth, the agency pivoted towards leveraging AI tools to automate and optimize marketing efforts, leading to the concept of "Vibe Marketing."

Understanding AI in Marketing: Agents vs. Workflows

A significant portion of the discussion centers on differentiating between AI agents and workflows, and how each plays a role in marketing automation.

Connor Rolain explains:

"A workflow is a series of if-then statements chained together, requiring predefined steps and inputs." [09:34]

In contrast:

"Agents are AI models with access to various tools. You input a broad idea or prompt, and they autonomously execute tasks to provide insights or create marketing assets." [09:34]

The conversation further explores the evolution of AI adoption in marketing:

1. Level One: Individual use of AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for isolated tasks.
2. Level Two: Integration of workflows, chaining multiple AI tools for streamlined processes using platforms like Gumloop and Lindy.
3. Level Three: Utilization of Multi-Channel Protocols (MCPs) to facilitate two-way communication between AI models and third-party tools or APIs, enabling more sophisticated and autonomous marketing operations.

Tools and Workflows in Action

The hosts discuss various AI tools and platforms that aid in automating and enhancing marketing workflows:

• Gumloop: Recommended as a beginner-friendly tool for automating workflows.
• Lindy and String.com: Advanced tools for building complex workflows with pre-populated nodes.
• Cursor and Claude Code: Advanced platforms used by Connor to build AI-driven applications and perform tasks like scraping competitor data and keyword research.

James highlights the utility of Greg Eisenberg's application of these tools:

"Just integrating these AI tools saves our team tons of time." [04:41]

Practical Applications and Use Cases

Connor Rolain demonstrates real-world applications of AI in marketing through a live walkthrough using Cursor and Claude Code:

1. Building a Shopify Site from Scratch:

   • Connor utilized Claude Code to create a Shopify theme, connecting it to GitHub for real-time updates.
   • He emphasized the efficiency of building and deploying a fully functional site within 30 minutes.

2. Competitive Analysis and Gap Identification:

   • Scraping competitor ads using tools like Apify.
   • Transcribing video ads with OpenAI's Whisper.
   • Conducting gap analysis to uncover unexplored marketing angles, such as emphasizing product durability based on customer pain points found on platforms like Reddit.

3. Keyword Research and SEO Strategy:

   • Using the Data for SEO MCP to identify high-value commercial keywords.
   • Developing programmatic SEO pages to target long-tail, low-volume keywords that are favored by Language Models (LLMs) and Google discovery.

Connor summarizes his workflow:

"Scrape, extract, transcribe, research, analyze, create, and deploy—manual processes that take days can be accomplished in hours with AI." [82:10]

Team Adoption and Implementation Strategies

The discussion highlights the importance of internal champions and team empowerment in adopting AI tools:

• Greg Eisenberg shares his approach at Jones Road Beauty, emphasizing training sessions and incentivizing team members to explore and implement AI-driven solutions.

  "We have a $7,500 bounty for the end of the year for the person who makes the biggest impact with AI." [16:29]

• Cody Plofker discusses Hexclad's early-stage adoption, focusing on standardized AI tools for brief writing and gradual integration across the organization.

  "We're tiptoeing into level two by creating custom GPTs to standardize briefs across the org." [31:48]

Future of AI in Marketing

The hosts and guest speculate on the future trajectory of AI in marketing:

Connor Rolain predicts a shift towards autonomous AI agents that manage and execute marketing tasks without human intervention:

"AI agents will replace most of the media buying work, allowing marketers to direct teams of smart AI agents instead of executing tasks themselves." [82:45]

Cody Plofker corroborates this by sharing Hexclad's experience with AI-driven media buying tools, indicating a trend towards fully automated marketing operations.

Audience Engagement and Q&A

Towards the end of the episode, the hosts address questions from listeners, emphasizing the practical steps brands can take to integrate AI into their workflows. They encourage experimentation, continuous learning, and leveraging AI as a co-pilot rather than seeking fully autonomous solutions immediately.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with an encouragement for marketers to embrace AI tools to unlock unprecedented efficiency and innovation in their strategies. Connor Rolain underscores the transformative potential of AI, likening the current phase to the early adoption of crucial technologies that will define the future of marketing.

"Embrace the opportunity to dive in and learn. It's an exciting time to be a marketer and builder with AI." [86:01]

Notable Quotes

• "When I think about agents, I think about an LLM or an AI model that has access to a bunch of tools already, and you're just entering the situation with like a prompt or a broad idea or maybe even nothing, and it's just going out on its own." - Connor Rolain [00:08]

• "Not using AI is the same as sending physical mail instead of using email right now." - Greg Eisenberg [04:39]

• "The democratization of information and the ability to act on it is just insane right now." - Connor Rolain [17:52]

• "Everyone can go in and figure this out. There's no gatekeeping anymore." - Connor Rolain [47:36]

• "The ability to go from insight to action here is unmatched by any other platform or any other tool on the market." - Connor Rolain [73:05]

Final Thoughts

Episode E067 of Marketing Operators provides a comprehensive exploration of AI's role in modern e-commerce marketing. Through insightful discussions, practical demonstrations, and forward-looking predictions, the hosts and guest equip listeners with the knowledge and inspiration to harness AI's full potential in their marketing endeavors.

Follow the Hosts and Guest:

• Connor Rolain (Boring Marketer): Twitter Handle
• Connor MacDonald: [Twitter Handle]
• Cody Plofker: [Twitter Handle]

Note: This summary excludes sponsorship messages and promotional content to focus solely on the episode's core discussions.