What a Year of Team-Wide AI Experimentation Has Taught Me

“We’ve been working with AI inside our products and go-to-market tech stacks for decades.” This is what I told the Callan Consulting team during their recent study on AI in marketing. “The game changer is that AI is now readily accessible to every marketer. This represents a massive mind shift and an exciting time for marketers.”

But here’s what I didn’t tell them: the real story isn’t about technology at all – it’s about unleashing human potential. For talent acquisition leaders and technology hiring managers, this parallel couldn’t be more relevant. Just as AI is transforming how marketing teams work, it’s revolutionizing how you identify, engage, and secure top tech talent in all functions. The experiences my team has had in our AI adoption journey – from choosing the right tools to encouraging team-wide adoption – mirror the ones you’re encountering across your business.

As someone who has guided a team through this transformation, I hope the insights from our journey here at Dice will help you navigate on your own. Whether you’re using AI to screen candidates more efficiently, analyze market compensation data, or optimize job descriptions, the principles of successful adoption remain the same.

When Metrics Take a Back Seat to Momentum

In late 2023, when our marketing team began seriously exploring AI capabilities, we faced a familiar leadership dilemma: wait for proven ROI models or move forward with conviction. The Callan study reveals we weren’t alone – two-thirds of marketing leaders report AI having only a “slight or moderate” impact so far, largely because many are still waiting for the perfect moment to dive in.

But at Dice, we chose a different path. Instead of waiting for perfect metrics, we created space for experimentation. As we often say, “progress, not perfection.” Our journey started where many teams did – with individuals exploring tools like ChatGPT and Claude. But we quickly moved beyond basic experimentation to integrate AI across our marketing programs, from content development to campaign optimization, from research to strategic planning, and beyond.

Scaling Through Innovation, Not Just Headcount

The results have been transformative. While the Callan study found that most marketing teams are still primarily using AI for content generation (100% of respondents), we’ve discovered efficiencies across our entire marketing function. Our content team now produces more sophisticated work because AI handles the heavy lifting of research and first drafts. Our campaign teams are leveraging AI for deeper audience insights and more precise targeting.

We’re also using AI to unlock insights from years of unstructured response data that had been sitting untapped in our systems. This treasure trove of information is helping us better understand technology professional behavior, career patterns, and skill development trajectories. What once would have taken months of manual analysis can now be processed and synthesized in hours, giving us unprecedented insights into the tech talent marketplace.

But most importantly, we’ve managed to scale our marketing impact without proportionally scaling our team size – a critical win in today’s economic environment. This aligns with a key finding from the Callan study: while no organizations have reduced headcount due to AI, many are doing significantly more with their existing teams.

The Power of Organic Innovation

One of the most fascinating findings in the Callan study was that successful AI adoption has been predominantly bottom-up across organizations. At Dice, we’ve leaned into this trend deliberately. Rather than mandating specific AI tools or processes, we’ve created what I call “innovation zones” – spaces where team members can experiment with AI tools and share their discoveries.

This approach has led to some unexpected wins. For example, one of our content strategists discovered how to use AI to analyze vast amounts of industry data to identify emerging tech skills trends – something that would have taken weeks to do manually. Another team member developed an AI-assisted approach to A/B testing that has significantly improved our campaign performance.

The Real Future of Marketing

The Callan study suggests that we’re merely at the beginning of AI’s impact on marketing. Looking ahead 3-5 years, they predict fundamental changes in how customers discover products and how we reach our audiences. But I believe the most profound changes will be in how we work.

We’re already seeing hints of this future. Our marketing team is evolving from task executors to strategic orchestrators. AI handles the time-consuming aspects of our work – data analysis, content drafting, campaign optimization – freeing our team to focus on what humans do best: strategic thinking, creative ideation, and emotional intelligence.

Leadership Lessons for the AI Era

1. Create “Innovation Zones”: Give your HR and recruiting team dedicated space and time to experiment with AI tools and processes.
2. Celebrate the Journey: Recognize and share both successes and instructive failures in AI adoption.
3. Focus on Augmentation: Position AI as a tool for enhancing human capabilities and connection, not replacing them.
4. Enable Organic Growth: Let AI adoption flow naturally from your team’s needs and discoveries.
5. Think Beyond Efficiency: Look for ways AI can transform your work, not just accelerate it.

The Path Forward

The past year has taught me that successful AI adoption isn’t about having the perfect strategy or the latest tools. It’s about creating an environment where teams feel empowered to push boundaries and reimagine what’s possible.

As marketing leaders, we’re not just managing a technological transition – we’re shepherding a fundamental shift in how marketing works. The organizations that will thrive aren’t necessarily those with the biggest AI budgets or the most sophisticated tools, but those that best combine human creativity with AI capabilities.

At Dice, we’re just getting started. As we continue to explore new applications of AI in marketing, one thing remains clear: the future belongs to teams across the business (not just in marketing) that embrace change, experiment boldly, and never lose sight of the human element that makes your company and its marketing team uniquely powerful.

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For more insights on how AI is transforming marketing, check out Callan Consulting’s comprehensive “State of AI in Technology Marketing” study, featuring perspectives from 12 marketing leaders on navigating this technological revolution.