Make AI Work Harder for Marketers

You're developing a campaign strategy, but there's more audience research to analyze than you have time for. You're exploring how AI can help your content reach audiences whose search habits are changing. Or perhaps your marketing team is using AI across multiple projects, but you haven't established consistent workflows or quality standards.

These are familiar challenges for marketing professionals, whether they work in content development, digital marketing, strategy, communications or client services. Making AI a valuable part of these activities requires more than proficiency with individual tools. It takes the ability to integrate AI into marketing strategies, processes and decisions.

What Could You Do Better with AI?

Consider what AI could help you accomplish with the right skills and approach:

• Turn information into insight. Use AI to organize audience research, identify patterns, explore customer journeys and develop marketing strategies informed by data and professional judgment.
• Create content with purpose. Go beyond generating first drafts to develop brand-aligned messaging, refine AI-assisted marketing content for different audiences and channels and improve visibility across traditional and AI-powered search.
• Make AI work for the whole team. Build shared workflows, reusable prompts and quality-control processes that support collaboration, consistency and responsible AI use.

The common thread is learning to use AI not just to complete individual tasks, but to improve how you approach your work, make decisions and contribute to marketing goals.

Building practical AI skills for marketing

Putting these capabilities into practice is the focus of the University of Minnesota's new AI for Marketing Professionals Certificate. Designed for working marketers, the program helps participants develop skills they can apply across marketing functions, from strategy and content development to team collaboration. Its tool-agnostic approach prepares them to adapt as AI technologies continue to evolve.

"Marketers are already finding ways to use AI in their daily work,” says Molly Hahne, associate director of Professional Development Programs at the College of Continuing and Professional Studies. “But there's a difference between experimenting with a tool and knowing how to use it effectively. We developed this certificate to help professionals build on their marketing experience, strengthen their judgment and make informed decisions about where AI can add value."

A practical approach to learning

The certificate consists of three six-week courses that build from individual productivity to marketing strategy and collaborative team delivery:

• AI for Productivity introduces effective prompting, tool evaluation, workflow automation and responsible AI practices to help professionals improve their day-to-day work.
• AI for Marketing Strategy, Content and Search explores how to apply AI to audience research, brand positioning, campaign planning, content development, search engine optimization (SEO) and emerging AI search practices.
• AI for Marketing Teams, Agencies and Client Delivery focuses on collaborative workflows, project execution, client communication, quality control and responsible AI governance.

Throughout the program, the emphasis is on applying what participants learn to realistic marketing challenges. Instead of simply experimenting with AI-generated content, learners develop strategies, workflows and resources they can use in professional settings.

"One of the biggest opportunities with AI is being able to do work that might otherwise be difficult to tackle with limited time or resources,” says course instructor Valerie Lockhart. “A small marketing team, for example, could use AI to build a more comprehensive audience research process. An agency could develop workflows that make client onboarding and campaign delivery more consistent. We want participants to see how AI can expand what they're capable of doing, not just help them finish tasks faster."

Through hands-on exercises, peer collaboration and project-based assessments, participants build a portfolio of work demonstrating their ability to implement AI responsibly and strategically. These deliverables include an AI-enhanced productivity system, a marketing strategy and content plan, and a team or client delivery package.

Learning that fits your professional goals

A content strategist, marketing manager and agency professional may all benefit from AI, but their priorities aren't necessarily the same. Some may want to strengthen their research and content development skills, while others are looking for ways to improve team workflows, client communication or campaign execution.

The certificate addresses these different needs through courses focused on distinct areas of professional practice. Participants can choose individual courses that align with their responsibilities and goals or complete the full program to develop a broader set of AI capabilities.

The courses are delivered online with instructor guidance and are designed for professionals who have some marketing experience. Those who complete the certificate requirements earn a University of Minnesota credential and a shareable digital badge. Whatever your role, the goal isn't simply to use more AI. It's to develop the skills and judgment to use it more effectively, whether that means making better decisions, producing stronger work or taking on new challenges.