The Exit Five CMO Podcast: How B2B Marketers Are Actually Using AI for Content

Host: Dave Gerhardt
Date: September 1, 2025
Theme: Cutting through the hype—real, specific, actionable AI use cases from practicing B2B marketers, showcasing how AI is actually being used for content operations today.

Episode Overview

In this lively, high-energy episode, Dave Gerhardt gathers five B2B marketing experts to “show their work” on how they’re actually using AI to drive results in content marketing. Instead of vague AI predictions, listeners get rapid-fire, practical use cases that address real workflow problems—straight from marketers in the trenches.

Each guest gets five minutes to present their approach, followed by panel Q&A and live audience voting. The tone is direct, a bit irreverent, and focused on what’s working versus what’s just noise.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI as a Multiplier for Content Reuse & Personalization

Jillian Hofer (User Evidence) demonstrates building a custom GPT-as-content-concierge, which lets her inject relevant report data and quotes into almost any content piece—blog posts, sales emails, LinkedIn thought leadership and more.

• AI’s Role: Not to write full content, but to act as an expert research assistant, surfacing tailored stats/quotes at scale.
• Process: She trains a custom GPT on a single, rich report PDF, disables web search to avoid hallucination, and uses targeted prompts (“Pitch me 3 stats to support this paragraph”).
• Results: Extended the life of content for 9+ months, able to update both new and already-live materials with fresh, relevant data.
• Memorable Quote:

  “This is your intern with a PhD running alongside you as you do your content thing to make you better in ways you wouldn’t have been able to do before.” —Dave Gerhardt (17:19)

• Timestamps:
  • 08:10 – Jillian’s intro & pain point
  • 12:30 – Custom GPT demo
  • 14:11 – Impact & repurposing explained

2. Democratized 3D Mascot Animation for Unique Brand Content

Jake (Domo) shares how non-technical marketers can animate a brand mascot using free/low-code AI tools.

• Workflow:
  1. Design mascot
  2. Upload to Meshi (AI 3D generator)
  3. Take screenshots from various angles
  4. Feed into Veo 3 (Google DeepMind’s AI animation tool)
  5. Export short video clips for use in social, ads, web.
• Why it matters: Dramatically reduces the cost and complexity of video/emoji/motion for B2B brands—adds personality, increases engagement.
• Time investment: ~10 minutes per animation.
• Panel insight:

  “I think we’re going to see a rise in B2B mascots for this reason. …You don’t have to hire someone to draw & animate all this…”
  —Jess Cook (25:09)

• Timestamps:
  • 19:31 – Jake's introduction
  • 23:58 – Technical workflow explained
  • 25:41 – Application & creativity discussion

3. Rapid-Build ROI Calculator—No Code Required

Jessica (Fractional Growth Marketer, Construction Tech) showcases a fully working, industry-specific ROI calculator deployed using Lovelable (no-code AI app builder).

• Purpose:
  • Create sales urgency by showing live, credible savings calculations for prospects (that they can bring straight to their CFOs).
  • Eliminates months of dev time; reduces cost, democratizes tools.
• Features:
  • Step-by-step custom input, prefilled with helpful industry benchmarks
  • Automatic PDF output with calculation transparency
  • Already deployed in live sales calls and at trade show booths
• Key Advice:
  • Include industry data for context, collaborate with Sales/SMEs for input fields
  • Use AI to “chat” through revisions, no need to directly prompt code

  “The last thing I coded in my life was my MySpace website in middle school, so… I’m not a coder.” —Jessica (39:56)

• Timestamps:
  • 30:56 – Jessica’s walkthrough
  • 36:46 – Panel Q&A and coding experience

4. Automated “Content Vault” for Competitor, Industry, & Expert Intelligence

Oogie (Content Monk) lays out a Zapier/Notion/AI-powered workflow that scrapes RSS feeds for new competitor and industry expert posts, summarizes content, and sends tagged alerts to Slack.

• Applications:
  • Monitor market/competitor moves
  • Get new “real” expert takes vs. AI LinkedIn slop
  • Feed internal GPTs for next-level content ideas and trend analysis
• Tech stack: Google Sheets + script for RSS + Jina AI (scraping) + ChatGPT (summarize) + Slack + Custom GPTs
• Time investment:
  • Basic workflow: 2-4 hours to set up
  • More advanced flows, like sales call transcript mining: up to 3 weeks

  “AI is turning everything into a commodity… what took weeks now takes hours…” —Oogie (49:06)

• Timestamps:
  • 41:14 – Oogie’s workflow overview
  • 47:33 – Use cases in practice
  • 49:06 – Speed and team support

5. Dynamic Buyer Briefs: Live Economic Context for Sales Outreach

Anton (Corporate Visions) presents an AI-powered tool that, on-demand, pulls current economic data, analyzes it for a specific persona, then auto-generates sales call briefs and value messaging matched to that role’s live environment.

• How it works:
  • Confirms today’s date for context
  • Web search to pull and cite (with sources) YTD, 30-day, 7-day economic trends
  • Persona menu (CRO, Enablement, Product Marketer) for relevance
  • Instantly outputs formatted, cited talking points plus messaging framework (Why Change/Why Evolve)
• Use cases: Sales team can run this on every prospecting call to tailor relevance, not just recycle evergreen stats.
• Quote:

  “This creates short lists of source lists… I put into a nicely formatted PDF. I’ve been doing this quarterly, but the next step is sellers using it live.”
  —Anton (54:30)

• Timestamps:
  • 50:51 – Anton’s demo
  • 55:48 – Panel Q&A

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI’s real marketing value:

  “We’re not talking about replacing anybody’s job. …This is your intern with a PhD. …The variable for success… is still going to be creativity.”
  —Dave Gerhardt (17:19, 27:58)

• On democratization:

  “What took weeks now takes hours… everything is easy and quicker to create right now.”
  —Oogie (49:06)

• On no-code's impact:

  “Aren’t you a marketer? Are you an engineer? …If you know the backend logic of what it takes to make one of these things…”
  —Jessica paraphrasing her client’s reaction (37:19)

• On B2B mascots as fun/AI unlock:

  “We get the ghosts out of your funnel… there are tons of applications. And so I love this. I love any way we can get more fun into B2B advertising.”
  —Jess Cook (25:09)

Summary Table: Presenters & AI Use Cases

| Presenter | Company/Context | AI Use Case | Key Benefit | Timestamp(s) | |-------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------| | Jillian Hofer | User Evidence | Custom GPT for report data/quote injection | Multiplies content reuse & relevance | 08:10–15:14 | | Jake | Domo | AI-animated 3D mascot workflow | Engaging brand assets, speed, fun | 19:31–25:41 | | Jessica | Fractional/Construction| No-code ROI calculator in Lovable | Super-fast, DIY value for sales | 30:56–40:45 | | Oogie | Content Monk | Automated content vault, alerts, and GT integration | Competitive/market intelligence | 41:14–50:18 | | Anton | Corporate Visions | Persona-based live briefs with up-to-date trends/data | Real-time enablement for sellers | 50:51–56:51 |

Key Takeaways

• AI is biggest for workflow augmentation: Not mass-producing generic content, but acting as a personal research assistant, repurposing engine, animation studio, app builder, or data analyst.
• No-code/low-code is a force multiplier: Tools like Lovable, Meshi, Veo3, and GPT custom instructions mean even non-developers can ship live tools, apps, or creative assets—fast.
• B2B is about to get much less boring: Mascots, dynamic calculators, live insights, and deep personalization become accessible without enterprise budgets.
• Creativity and marketing fundamentals still win: As Dave says, “The variable for success… is still going to be creativity.”
• Community enthusiasm is high: Real-world demos, not fluffy predictions, drive massive positive feedback—attendees want more of this format.

Episode Flow – Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:38 – Panel intros & tone setting
• 08:10 – Jillian: Content repurposing via custom GPT
• 19:31 – Jake: 3D mascot animation with Meshi & Veo3
• 30:56 – Jessica: Live ROI calculator with Lovable
• 41:14 – Oogie: AI-powered content intelligence system
• 50:51 – Anton: Economic-trend-powered sales briefs
• 58:20–end – Voting, winner reveal (“The winner is Jessica!”), closing thoughts

Final Thoughts and Panel Reflections

• Dave Gerhardt: “This is what has me excited… by marketers, for marketers—people willing to try new tools, build things, move faster… Nobody said here’s how I’m going to rewrite blog posts with this [AI]. We saw real, specific stuff.”

• Winner: Jessica, for her rapid-build, high-impact no-code ROI calculator—recognized for both accessibility and clear business value.

Further Resources & Community

Connect with presenters on LinkedIn for shared prompts, flows, or additional demos.
Join the Exit Five community for more hands-on B2B marketing content and tactical collaboration.

For first-time listeners:
This episode provides tangible playbooks—not hype—illustrating how marketers of any technical background can put AI to work in creative, business-driving ways today. Skip to the timestamps above for each use case or dive in for the panel’s in-the-moment reactions, Q&A, and insights.