If you’ve been anywhere near a marketing podcast, blog, or LinkedIn stream lately, you know artificial intelligence is everywhere—our conversations, our ambitions, and, yes, even our anxieties. But in our latest episode of the Marketing Companion, I had a revelation with my friend Mathew Sweezy that stopped my “hype train” in its digital tracks. The pressing issue with AI in marketing might not be technical at all. It’s not the software, the models, or even the mysterious “prompt engineering.” The real AI challenge is leadership.
Mathew, who’s leading AI transformation at the global digital agency Monks, dropped a line that every CMO needs to tattoo somewhere within eyesight: AI is a leadership challenge, not a technical one.
Speed: The Underrated Competitive Edge
We started by talking about how corporate mindsets are splitting into two camps. Some are stuck in analysis paralysis, demanding to see hard ROI before dipping a toe. But the game changers—often Fortune 10 juggernauts—see AI as the next electricity. They’re moving decisively, driven by exec teams that understand one truth: if you wait, you miss the moment. AI isn’t about replacing people; it’s about expanding what’s possible and getting there first.
Mathew shared that the primary way companies are unlocking value with AI is simple but powerful: speed. With AI, inspiration in the morning can turn into production by the afternoon. Marketers are going from concept to campaign at a velocity that in the past would have been unthinkable, letting them be genuinely relevant, responsive, and—crucially—competitive. Reduced costs and greater creative output are important, too, but speed is the ace in the deck.
The AI Challenge Nobody Wants to Talk About
But here’s where things got interesting. AI isn’t the bottleneck with campaign launches anymore. People are. Most large organizations are still shackled by review cycles, legal approvals, and old-school processes. AI can generate a multi-channel campaign—TV spot, emails, the works—in a week. Yet, review and approval can drag on for weeks or months.
Why? Because big brands have far more to lose than gain by being fast. The old guard doesn’t want to risk a misstep, so speed grinds to a halt at the legal gate.
Mathew challenged me—has the balance of risk and reward shifted enough that we need to rethink the human review step? Increasingly, AI models can ingest prior review feedback and act as diligent gatekeepers themselves. At some point, more human reviews might not add value—they could just add friction. I didn’t agree with him. Maybe friction is exactly what we need right now!
Who Owns the Brand Brain?
Here’s another mindbender: With agencies deploying AI “agents” to create assets at scale, who owns the “brand brain”—the central agent capturing brand knowledge, style, and sensibility? Is it the brand’s to develop and guard, or does each agency make their own? Matthew predicts we’ll see brands taking sharper control, centralizing that “brand brain,” and letting agencies access it securely. This protects data, ensures brand consistency, and makes knowledge learning truly scalable.
And don’t worry, creative people: AI doesn’t spell the end. In these new agentic workflows, creative directors are still calling the shots, just now with a team of digital “specialists” who never tire, second-guess, or run late for a meeting.
A New Era for Creativity
This all points to a future where a marketing department isn’t just a mix of strategy and creative, but a system that learns, iterates, and rebuilds itself on a weekly—or even daily—basis. The wall between “art” and “machine” is coming down. Matthew—who’s also an artist—envisions exhibitions where artists create entire galleries in a day, reimagining the scale and pace of creative production.
Like me, he sees the symbiotic relationship between artist and machine as amplifying, not diluting, creativity. Suddenly, your limitations as a creator—whether they’re artistic, logistical, or even emotional—become machine problems, not human ones.
The Takeaway
So, where does this leave us? For leaders ready to accept the risk, AI can transform not just your marketing output but your whole organization’s metabolism. For those still clinging to the old ways, the real risk is getting left behind by brands who see “speed” as non-negotiable.
This isn’t a time to be timid. It’s a time for bold leadership, creative experimentation, and a willingness to reprogram the very rules we’ve always followed. AI is here. The question isn’t “should we use it?” It’s “how fast can we lead?”
Every conversation with Mathew is a mind trip, and you won’t want to miss this new episode of The Marketing Companion:
To listen in, just click here:
Click here to enjoy The Marketing Companion Episode 318
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