Most CMOs today oversee more technology than the CTO did ten years ago.
Martech stacks have ballooned from a handful of tools to dozens of interconnected platforms. AI is reshaping the marketing playbook almost monthly. And yet, when I talk to marketing leaders, even the most accomplished, many quietly admit they still feel unprepared for the pace and complexity of change.
If you’re one of them, you’re not alone.
I’ve been in your shoes, and in some ways, I still am. My career started in a world where marketing was equal parts creative magic and rigorous planning. At Travelport, I saw the early signs of the shift: marketing teams inheriting more responsibility for data, analytics, and automation. We were no longer just telling stories, we were building systems.
Fast forward to now, and the transformation is undeniable. The modern CMO is part brand custodian, part technologist, part growth architect. The challenge? Many of us built our careers on creativity, storytelling, and strategy, not on APIs, machine learning models, or marketing automation workflows.
The question isn’t if AI will change your role. It already has. The question is: How do you lead confidently in a world where your decisions are increasingly data-driven, AI-augmented, and tech-enabled, even if you’re not “technical”?
And right now, there’s an additional twist: the launch of ChatGPT-5.
This isn’t just another upgrade in the AI world, it’s a leap in reasoning, contextual awareness, and human-like collaboration. It means the AI marketing shift just accelerated, and CMOs who act now will be in the best position to lead, not follow.
The days when you could leave the “tech stuff” to IT or digital marketing are over. Today’s CMO has to orchestrate a marketing engine that’s:
• AI-powered – from customer segmentation to predictive analytics
• Always-on – running campaigns across multiple channels in real time
• Data-driven – making decisions based on signals from thousands of customer interactions
• Hyper-personalised – delivering messaging that resonates at the individual level
And all of this is happening in a market that moves faster than most corporate decision-making processes can keep up with.
Here’s the paradox:
You don’t need to be able to code or build neural networks. But you do need to understand enough to lead, to set vision, make informed decisions, and inspire your team to work alongside technology rather than in fear of it.
When I co-founded Jam 7, I knew that AI wasn’t just another “channel” or “tool”, it was a multiplier. The question was: How do we make that multiplier accessible to marketing leaders who aren’t engineers?
We developed what we call Growth Agents – specialist AI entities that focus on specific marketing functions like research, segmentation, copywriting, or campaign design. These agents sit inside our Agentic Marketing Platform (AMP), which orchestrates multiple agents in a coordinated way. Think of it like a high-performing team: each agent has a role, but they work together toward a common outcome.
This isn’t about replacing marketing leaders.
It’s about giving you the kind of capabilities that were previously reserved for companies with massive budgets and in-house data science teams, and letting you deploy them without needing a degree in computer science.
Whenever AI comes up, someone inevitably says: “Won’t AI just do my job?”
It’s a natural concern, but it misses the point.
AI is brilliant at execution, processing vast amounts of data, generating options, and optimising variables. But leadership is about judgment – making sense of the data, understanding context, setting priorities, and leading people.
In other words: AI gives you options. You decide the direction.
From my experience working with non-technical CMOs, I’ve seen three mindset shifts that make the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling in control.
1. From “Knowing Everything” to “Orchestrating the Right Questions”
You don’t need to know how the AI model was trained. You do need to know what question to ask. That’s where prompting, which we’ll cover later, becomes your secret weapon.
2. From “Owning the Process” to “Owning the Outcome”
You don’t need to manage every technical detail. You do need to set clear objectives, align teams (human and AI), and measure impact.
3. From “Tools First” to “Strategy First”
AI tools are only as effective as the strategy they’re serving. Start with your growth goals, then deploy AI in service of them, not the other way around.
At Jam 7, we designed AMP and our Growth Agents to take the heavy lifting off your plate while keeping you firmly in the driver’s seat.
Here’s how they help:
• Customer Segmentation – AI can analyse millions of data points to identify micro-segments, but the Growth Agent presents them in a way that’s actionable for your campaigns.
• Content Creation – From ad copy to white papers, agents can produce drafts in minutes, freeing your team to focus on refinement and strategy.
• Campaign Optimisation – Real-time adjustments based on performance data, without waiting for the next monthly review.
• Market Research – Always-on scanning of competitor moves, industry news, and emerging trends.
All of these functions work together under your leadership, giving you leverage without losing control.
Ironically, not being deeply technical can sometimes be an advantage.
Why? Because it forces you to focus on the why and the what, rather than getting lost in the how.
Technical people can sometimes get enamoured with the sophistication of the system. Non-technical leaders are more likely to ask: Does this help us grow? Does it align with our brand? Does it make life better for our customers?
This clarity of focus is invaluable in an AI-driven marketing world where shiny-object syndrome is rampant.
If prompting feels like a dark art, think of it more like briefing a creative team. The clearer and more specific you are, the better the output.
1. Set the Role – Start with “You are my [role]…” so the AI knows the perspective to adopt.
Example: “You are my market research analyst…”
2. Give Context – Include the business goal, audience, and constraints.
Example: “…We’re launching a new SaaS product for mid-market CFOs in the UK…”
3. Define the Output – Be explicit about format, tone, and length.
Example: “…Write a 200-word LinkedIn post in an authoritative yet approachable tone.”
4. Iterate – Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat it as a conversation.
5. Ask for Alternatives – Request multiple options so you can compare and refine.
Remember: prompting is a leadership skill. You’re not “using a tool”, you’re directing a collaborator.
If you’re a CMO feeling the weight of the AI shift, you don’t have to go it alone.
We built AMP and our Growth Agents to give leaders like you the confidence to make bold, informed decisions, without getting lost in the technical weeds.
And right now, the timing couldn’t be better.
With the launch of ChatGPT-5, we’re entering a new era of AI capabilities, faster reasoning, deeper context understanding, and more natural collaboration between human leaders and AI systems. This isn’t just an incremental upgrade. It’s a groundbreaking shift in how marketing decisions can be informed, creative work can be accelerated, and customer experiences can be personalised.
There’s no better time to start working with a partner who not only understands the technology but knows how to get the most out of it for your specific growth goals. That’s exactly what Jam 7 was built for.
Book a 15-minute walkthrough and see how our Growth Agents could transform a current challenge in your marketing strategy, powered by the latest generation of AI.
Absolutely. AMP is designed so you focus on decisions, not configurations. Our Growth Agents handle the complexity, presenting you with insights and options you can act on immediately.
Traditional agencies often work on fixed timelines and deliverables. AMP operates continuously, adapting in real time, and our agents are built to integrate with your existing team.
Yes, but only if it’s trained correctly. Our agents learn your brand’s tone, style, and positioning from day one, and every output is reviewable before publishing.
We connect AMP directly to your analytics stack so you can see the impact on leads, conversions, and revenue in real time.
No. AI enhances your team’s capabilities. It takes repetitive work off their plate, so they can focus on creative, strategic, and relationship-driven activities.
Our team of human Growth Agents can work with imperfect data, and over time, they help you improve data quality as part of the process.
Many clients see meaningful improvements in campaign performance within the first 60 days, with compounding gains over time as the AI learns from your data, refines targeting, and optimises creative outputs. The more you engage with AMP and your Growth Agents, the faster the system can adapt to your goals, turning early wins into sustained, scalable growth.