Marketers + LLMs for creative and strategic tasks = LLM alone Marketers without LLMs = worse
A MIT Sloan & Boston Consulting Group study, featured in Harvard Business Review and covered by Ethan Mollick (Wharton).
The research team evaluated marketers across various creative and analytical tasks: from crafting product messages to audience targeting and campaign design.
Sites: Professionals from multiple global firms participated, including BCG’s marketing innovation labs.
The study focused on ambiguous, real-world marketing tasks with no clear “correct” answers, where creative decision-making and business judgment are key:
1️⃣ How should we position a product for Gen Z buyers?
2️⃣ Which headlines would best engage a healthcare professional audience?
3️⃣ How do we allocate budget across a new omnichannel campaign?
They compared three groups:
🔹LLM alone
🔹Marketers + LLM support (ChatGPT-style assistant)
🔹Marketers without AI tools
All outputs were evaluated by senior executives and professional marketers blinded to the source.
Results:
🔹LLM alone consistently scored higher than marketers without AI tools
🔹Marketers with LLM support matched — and often slightly exceeded — LLMs alone
🔹Marketers without LLMs produced lower-quality results across all task types
These results reinforce an emerging pattern across industries:
LLMs don’t just assist — they outperform when used well.
As Prof. Kate Kellogg (MIT Sloan) noted:
“Marketers now need to shift from creators to curators. The differentiator isn’t writing, it’s refining and strategic guidance.”
One Room Available at Open Future Co-Working Space – Palo Alto
We currently have one private room available in the Open Future Co-Working Space in Palo Alto.
If you're interested or would like more details, please reply directly to this email.
AI & Cybersecurity in MedTech: Transforming the Future of Secure Medical Devices
Tuesday, May 20 - 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM PDT
Private VC / Startup Wine Tasting Mixer
Tuesday, May 13 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
San Francisco AI Founder and VC Networking May 13th
Tuesday, May 13 - 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Founders & Investors Mixer (SaaStr & Silicon Valley) May 15th
Thursday, May 15 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Private VC / Startup Wine Tasting Mixer
Tuesday, May 20 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM