The most overrated use of AI right now

Summary

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MarTech Podcast ™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth

Episode: The Most Overrated Use of AI Right Now
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Patrick Brown, SVP of Global Marketing at Adobe
Date: June 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the practical realities—and common misconceptions—surrounding AI in modern marketing. Host Benjamin Shapiro interviews Patrick Brown about where AI delivers the most value and where its current uses are overhyped, especially focusing on the idea of AI-driven future predictions and projections. The conversation explores how organizations can thoughtfully apply AI, avoid the trap of “future chasing,” and remain rooted in delivering core value to their audience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Most Overrated Use of AI: Forward-Looking Projections

[02:30] Patrick Brown:

• Patrick identifies “forward looking projection” as the most overrated use of AI right now.
• AI excels at analyzing historical data, summarizing, and synthesizing information, but struggles with predicting the future.
• He explains the inherent limitation: “It only knows the context you provided and it's trying to tell you things that you like. So it is great at summarization, it is great at synthesizing, but I think when the question starts to shift into things that are more forward looking, it really requires a human judgment...”
• Key Quote

  “When the question starts to shift into things that are more forward looking, it really requires human judgment on how to think about it.”
  — Patrick Brown, [02:50]

2. AI Platforms and “Building for the Future”

[03:13] Host / Benjamin Shapiro:

• Benjamin highlights the pressure tech platforms put on marketers to build for the “next iteration of the model,” even as those future shifts remain unknown to most users.
• He notes the often contradictory message from platform companies:

  “Other than in six months you won't be coding anymore, right? Like that made sense to me. I wasn't coding back then and apparently I am now. So actually the opposite of what they said was going to happen.”
  — Benjamin Shapiro, [03:30]

• He expresses skepticism about the feasibility of truly anticipating AI's future impact on jobs and processes.

3. Organizational Reality Versus Shiny AI Promises

[04:05] Patrick Brown:

• Patrick reframes the AI discussion, emphasizing that organizations should remain grounded in their real-world tasks:
  • Delivering great customer experiences (e.g., through engaging content, advertising, emails).
  • Measuring performance and understanding what works.
  • Building foundational tools that support the above.
• He stresses the importance of context and internal priorities over external hype:

  “You have to almost bring it back to your organization and what makes sense...there's some core bedrock on what our jobs are.”
  — Patrick Brown, [04:10]

• AI should be used primarily to enhance these pillars, rather than chasing unproven, speculative future uses.

4. The Limits of Forecasting AI's Trajectory

[04:30] Patrick Brown:

• Patrick acknowledges the breakneck pace of AI development, but cautions that it's impossible to make reliable forecasts about its future impact.
• Instead, he suggests focusing on where AI can accelerate known workflows and support existing strategies, rather than betting on what could change.
• Key Insight:

  “What is coming next, I think will just accelerate in certain areas that I don't know that I can even forecast.”
  — Patrick Brown, [04:45]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI's Overhyped Use:

  “It is great at summarization, it is great at synthesizing, but I think when the question starts to shift into things that are more forward looking, it really requires a human judgment...”
  — Patrick Brown, [02:46]

• On Chasing the Next Big AI Thing:

  “They always say that you need to be building for the next iteration of the model...there's no way for us to understand the [future].”
  — Benjamin Shapiro, [03:15]

• On Grounding AI Adoption in Reality:

  “At the end of the day, there's some core bedrock on what our jobs are…It’s all in the service of helping folks connect with our products. How we employ AI to do those things is where we focus.”
  — Patrick Brown, [04:13]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:30] — Patrick Brown names “forward looking projection” as the most overrated use of AI
• [03:13] — Host challenges the narrative of “building for the next model”
• [04:05] — Patrick explains how organizations should ground their AI use in core functions
• [04:45] — Patrick on AI accelerating existing areas, but the future remains unpredictable

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Tone & Language

• The conversation blends practical skepticism with optimism for AI’s real and immediate uses.
• Both Patrick and Benjamin are candid, grounded, and wary of AI hype; the tone is insightful with a wink of wry humor (especially Benjamin's anecdote about coding predictions).

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Summary Takeaway

This episode serves as both a reality check and a guide for marketers striving to use AI thoughtfully. Rather than overinvesting in AI’s speculative power to predict the future, organizations should harness AI for what it does best today: summarizing, synthesizing, and improving established workflows—always grounded in their core business objectives.

Transcript

[Benjamin Shapiro]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising. Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Today's interview is brought to you by Shift Paradigm Marketing today is buried in complexity. You've got the tech, you've got the tools, but moving the needle feels harder than ever. And the last thing us marketers need is another consultant pitching digital transformation. Enter Shift Paradigm Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands turn complexity into traction. Their work is insight led and strategically grounded, designed not to sell you a service or a piece of tech, but to actually solve real business challenges. What makes them different? Well, they're AI enabled but not AI dependent. They're human first, but plugged into the latest tools and models and the moments those models need to go through to prove themselves. They get techy without losing sight of the real person behind every click. And they don't just hand you a deck, they build the blueprints and stay to develop, deploy and run the engine. Growth isn't one size fits all. So stop settling for strategies that collect dust and start working with the team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience. That's ShiftParadigm.com I want to ask you an AI question. What's the most overrated use of AI right now?

[Patrick Brown]

I think it is forward looking projection. I think that one of the things that we've seen historically is this and it's this, this, this tension that exists right now on these platforms between the historical context that you've provided it which we we've loaded as much as we possibly can of all the context and everything that we know and we ask them to ask it to predict the future. And I think oftentimes what you see when you start to do this over time is it only knows the context you provided and it's trying to tell you things that you like. So it is great at summarization, it is great at synthesizing, but I think when the question starts to shift into things that are more forward looking, it really requires a human judgment on how to think about it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

It seems like every time I watch any sort of video or written work from anybody at a platform company, they always say that you need to be building for the next iteration of the model. And that's great because they know what the next model is. And maybe they're just trying to train us to, to, you know, build for the future, but there's no way for us to understand the. I struggle with understanding the capabilities of what's coming down the road. Other than in six months you won't be coding anymore, right? Like that made sense to me. I wasn't coding back then and apparently I am now. So actually the opposite of what they said was going to happen. In six months, no one will be coding. I don't know. That's all I do now. I used to be a podcast host. How do you think about the, the projections when you're looking at what the, you know, the future of AI and the way that everybody's job is changing?

[Patrick Brown]

I, you know, I, I think that you have, this is where there's so much happening and there's like, you, you have to almost bring it back to your organization and what makes sense. Like, at the end of the day, there's some, there are some, there's some core bedrock on what our jobs are. And I think basically we've got three different pillars within our organization. We're delivering great experiences into the world, whether they be through social content that's interesting, or even advertising or emails. We're measuring and trying to understand what works and then we're building some of these foundational tools and that's all in the service of helping folks connect with our products. At the end of the day, that's how we think about it and how we employ AI to do those things. What is coming next, I think will just accelerate in certain areas that I don't know that I can even forecast.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

All right, that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Patrick Brown, the SVP of Global Marketing at Adobe, for joining us. A special thanks to Shift Paradigm for sponsoring this podcast. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands bridge the gap between strategy data and customers. Human first, AI enabled and execution led. They build the blueprints, then stay to develop, deploy, and run the engine you need. So stop settling for decks that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience. If you'd like to get in touch with Patrick, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you can visit his company's website, which is adobe.com and if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed next week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Foreign. Thanks for listening to the MarTech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.