• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 24, 2023

Marketers are somewhat wary about AI — 56% believe the hype is overblown. Still, 68% believe it is essential to learn about the technology, and 49% of firms have conducted AI formal training over the last six months, according to the Futureproof Marketing survey, a study released Monday by Capterra. 

Another 41% say that while they have some AI training, they need more.  

But the survey revealed these slightly contradictory findings about the need for regulation: 

• The U.S. government should regulate AI technology — 62% 
• AI technology changes so often, regulation seems unrealistic — 57% 
• Regulating AI will stifle innovation — 56% 

Does AI training exist? Of the marketers polled, 61% rate the availability at their firms as adequate, but say it could be better. Specifically, they want additional training on:

• Data analysis and interpretation using AI 
• AI-powered automation or campaign organization
• AI prompt writing 
• Generative AI writing
  

Meanwhile, the respondents are using AI technology for:

• Writing copy — 51% 
• Writing code — 48% 
• Generating illustrations or images — 40% 
• Generating video — 37% 
• Customer support — 35%

And they anticipate workplace productivity benefits in these areas: 

• Increasing speed or efficiency of workflows or processes — 52% 
• Data processing — 51% 
• Automating digital tasks — 50% 
• Discovering information — 47% 
• Simplifying workflows or processes — 47% 

Marketing managers are seeking employees with AI skills, but they also want so-called soft skills:

Adaptability or flexibility — 48%

Collaboration and teamwork — 45%

Leadership — 44% 

Finally, the study lists these common misconceptions about AI:

1. It’s not possible to prevent your data/conversations from being used to train ChatGPT models—100% thought this was true. But ChatGPT now lets you disable your ChatGPR history
   
2. ChatGPT has knowledge of current events — ChatGPT is only trained on data through September 2021 and has limited knowledge of events since then.  
3. ChatGPR can cite its sources — While 100% of marketers believe this is true, models cannot cite their sources, for they may be inaccurate or inconsistent. 

Capterra surveyed 281 U.S. marketers working in organizations with up to 1,000 employees in June 2023.