How to get the AI training you need to succeed

In the rush to deploy generative AI for marketing, organizations have overlooked one thing: Training.

People may assume marketers don’t need it because genAI uses natural language. However, being able to communicate with a technology and knowing how to use it are very different things.

A 2024 report from The Marketing AI Institute found that although 99% of marketers say they’re using AI, 67% say a lack of training remains a barrier to its adoption at work. Without company support, the training is up to you. So, what skills do you need, and how can you learn them?

The good news is you are already an expert in the most important thing you need to know. 

“If you are a marketer, the No. 1 skill you need is expertise in whatever branch of marketing you’re in,” said Chris Penn, chief data scientist and co-founder of TrustInsight. “As models get smarter, they’re making mistakes that are harder to detect if you don’t have expertise.”

GenAI is no longer generating what Penn calls “ChatGPT’s weird word vomit.” The old saying that “to err is human, but to really mess up, you need a computer” is more relevant than ever. Your marketing expertise and understanding of your organization’s goals are key to avoiding those messes. 

Beyond that, what you need is a basic knowledge of how genAI works. Fortunately, there are a lot of very good, free resources.

Start with the basics

Start off by getting grounded in the basics of AI and large language models with introductory articles from OpenAI and Google. 

YouTube has many video tutorials, so many that we won’t pretend to know which ones are the best. Here are three Reddit Subreddits where you can look for recommendations:

• r/Artificial
• r/ArtificialIntelligence
• r/ChatGPT

Go to MIT or Harvard for free

There are also free introductory AI courses from some of the best institutions in the world.

• MIT’s many offerings include:
  • Understanding the World Through Data
  • AI 101
  • Artificial Intelligence
• Harvard: AI with Python
• Microsoft: AI for Beginners 
• Google: Introduction to Large Language Models

Dig deeper: The top 50 genAI use cases in marketing

Next up, you’ll want to focus on optimizing your requests or, in other words, prompt engineering. Again, many world-class organizations are offering free courses on this:

• Vanderbilt Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
• OpenAI: ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Devs
• edX: AI Applications and Prompt Engineering

It’s worth noting that many institutions offer paid courses that provide certification in all these skills. A quick Google search will reveal courses that specialize in AI for marketers.

It’s time to get messy

While all that information is helpful, there’s one thing that you can start doing now: Play around with the different AI models. Kick the tires. Ask questions — that’s what it’s there for. 

Here are some things to keep in mind as you do this:

• When working with AI-generated content, it helps to experiment with different prompt styles to see how the responses change. You can go broad with something like “Write a blog post,” or get specific with “Write a 500-word blog post on AI in B2B marketing with bullet points.” 
• Try role-based prompts, like asking the AI to act as a content strategist and create a LinkedIn post on AI trends. You can also refine responses step by step—starting with a general request and tweaking it based on follow-ups.
• Pay attention to how AI adjusts based on tone, style, and structure. For example, asking for a casual vs. formal tone can completely change the feel of the response. Giving specific instructions—like “Follow this format: X, Y, Z”—helps guide the output, while revision requests such as “Rewrite this with a stronger CTA” can make the content more effective.
• AI tools also let you tweak settings to fine-tune responses. The temperature setting controls creativity—lower values keep it focused and precise, while higher values make it more creative. Top-P (nucleus sampling) filters out words that are less likely to be used, affecting coherence and variety. Token limits impact response length and detail. Playing around with these settings can help you get AI-generated content that fits your needs.

Dig deeper: Is your marketing team AI-ready? 8 steps to strategic AI adoption

This knowledge is essential for marketers and pretty much anyone else who does knowledge work.

“We need a far more AI-literate workforce, people who are comfortable with what it’s capable of doing,” said Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of The AI Marketing Institute. “How can I find things I do every day and identify ways to use AI in those things? And if you have that literate workforce, then those people who are domain experts, they’ll figure out how to apply it.”