Why AI Isn’t Optional Anymore (And What to Do About It)
Last week, some of the team from Mi3 Consulting Group had the chance to attend #CincyAIWeek — a high-energy, three-day event focused on education, hands-on learning, and open conversations about how AI is changing the way we all work. The crowd included tech insiders, marketers, and business leaders — all eager to better understand what AI means for their work.
Midway through a session, I got a text from a colleague: “Wish I could’ve gone, but just too busy with work.” I get it. But honestly, this isn’t something we can afford to keep putting off. If you’re in marketing or any commercial role — especially in leadership — it’s time to stop seeing AI as a “nice-to-have” and start treating it as essential.
The good news? You’re not too late. AI is still early in its adoption curve. There’s time to learn, experiment, and benefit — but you’ve got to start now.
Here are four key insights we took away from our time at this important event:
1. A Shift from Brand Awareness to Answer Awareness
One of the biggest themes was this: we’re moving beyond brand awareness. In an AI-first world, it’s becoming all about answer awareness.
Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot don’t return lists of search results — they generate answers. And over time, these “answer engines” will begin to replace traditional search. The brands that show up as trusted sources in those answers? They’ll be the ones that win.
What to do:
Audit how your brand appears in AI-generated responses today. Ask each tool the types of questions your customers might ask and see what shows up.
Optimize your content to provide clear, trustworthy, and helpful answers that these tools can easily identify and surface.
2. Try, Test, Repeat
There’s no single “perfect” AI tool. Whether you’re generating images, writing copy, conducting research, or analyzing data — each platform brings something different to the table. So treat this moment like a testing ground.
What to do:
Take advantage of free trials. Tools like Canva, ChatGPT, and many enterprise platforms offer limited versions to explore.
Try using different tools for the same task and compare the results. It’s a low-risk way to find what actually fits your workflow.
3. Real-World Use Cases That Stood Out
Some of the most valuable takeaways came from a session on AI in sales and marketing. Two practical ideas really stuck with us:
Turn sales calls into insights. AI-powered note-taking tools like Fathom or Google Meet’s transcription feature can help extract valuable insights from your sales calls — from FAQs to training scenarios, content for customer support, even help uncover unmet needs.
Improve Request for Proposal (RFP) responses. If you regularly respond to RFPs, try comparing both the request and your draft in an AI tool. It can identify unclear or incomplete responses, offer suggestions, and help boost your chances to win — in less time.
4. Better Prompts = Better Results
One theme that came up repeatedly: AI is only as good as the prompt you give it. Writing a better prompt almost always leads to better, more relevant output.
What to do:
Spend a bit of time learning how to craft strong prompts or as they term it “prompt engineering”. There are plenty of free, high-quality resources available.
Treat prompting as a conversation: the human sets the direction, let AI respond, then the human refines and adds their own insights.
We are still early in our AI journey, but Cincy AI Week opened our eyes to how much opportunity there is — not just in the future, but right now. The tools are available now. The use cases are real. And the learning curve? Totally manageable if you commit to taking it one step at a time.
If you’re in marketing and have been waiting for the “right time” to jump into AI, this is it. Don’t wait for perfect. Just start.
