Sarah Stockdale is the founder and CEO of Growclass.
Everyone is talking about AI—nonstop, it seems. But what very few people are acknowledging is that AI isn’t a magic wand that will do your marketing for you while you sip a negroni and scroll Zillow.
A new survey by Angus Reid and Growclass show just how wide the AI knowledge gap is right now. While nearly half (42 percent) of Canadians say they’re already using AI at work, only a third (33 percent) feel confident using it, and only 12 percent have actually been trained on how to use it.
That’s not just a productivity problem—it’s a strategic one.
Here’s the truth: AI can be a powerful tool for marketers. It can help you write faster, spark ideas, and automate repetitive tasks. But it’s only useful when you know what you’re doing.
AI doesn’t replace smart marketers—it makes smart marketers faster. So, you need to develop the skills that make AI worth using.
Closing the AI Learning Gap
The best investment you can make right now isn’t another shiny tool—it’s in your people. When your team has the foundations of growth marketing and the confidence to use AI well and responsibly, they can move faster, work smarter, and build with integrity.
That’s why Growclass created the AI Marketing & Strategy Certification: a six-week program built to close the training gap and give Canadian businesses a competitive edge.
The results speak for themselves:
- 100 percent of grads of the certification built a documented AI strategy or roadmap after completing the course.
- 73 percent left feeling confident integrating AI into their day-to-day.
- 67 percent now feel prepared to navigate the ethical and regulatory side of AI.
- 87 percent are expanding how they use AI in their roles.
AI isn’t a shortcut to good marketing. But it is a powerful accelerator—once your foundation is in place.
The Risks and Rewards of Using AI Tools in Marketing
When you use AI without intention, you risk more than just creating a messy doc full of mediocre headlines. You risk hurting your brand, your growth trajectory, and how your audience and customers perceive you.
- Your brand can take a hit. If your team is using AI to pump out content without a strategy, you’re scaling mediocrity. More doesn’t mean better. And your audience can tell when the lights are on but no one’s home.
- You might be putting sensitive data at risk. McKinsey’s AI in the Workplace report found that about half of employees worry about AI inaccuracy and cybersecurity risks. If folks are feeding customer info or proprietary data into non-secure tools, you’ve got a privacy problem on your hands.
- Growth stalls. AI can help you do more—but without clarity on what’s actually working, you’re just scaling noise. Growth doesn’t come from doing everything. It comes from doing the right things really well.
Without training, AI turns into a content firehose. With training, it becomes a growth lever: Campaigns ship faster because AI takes on the busywork. Compliance risks shrink because teams know what data can and can’t go into the tools. Strategy gets sharper because marketers spend less time drafting and more time analyzing results.
How Companies Are Training Their Marketing Teams to Use AI
By taking the Growclass AI Marketing and Strategy Certification, Fay Qian, Vice President at Stay Maple Inc., was able to shift from experimentation to execution.
“I’ve moved from experimenting with AI to building systems that actually save me time, improve customer engagement, and support growth,” she said.
For Qian, the training showed her how to use AI to achieve measurable outcomes: efficiency gains, stronger customer relationships, and a foundation for scaling.
“The course helped me cut through the noise, identify what’s relevant for my stage of business, and take immediate action,” Qian said. “I now feel empowered to lead with clarity, test ideas faster, and scale smarter—with AI as a real partner in the process.”
Tara Milburn, President and CEO at Ethical Swag, emphasized that the certification didn’t just accelerate her team’s workflows; it also safeguarded their values.
“I gained the clarity and confidence I needed to navigate AI in a way that aligns with our values,” she said. By building clear AI policies, Milburn ensures her team can adopt AI in a way that balances efficiency with brand integrity—protecting both productivity and trust.
“I understand the tools, policies, and ethics that matter—and can lead with integrity as we explore how AI can support, not replace, the human-centered work that drives real impact,” she said. For Milburn, the win was ensuring AI adoption didn’t compromise long-term business sustainability.
Why Strong Marketing Foundations Matter
Jocelyn Butler, CEO of Orchestra Marketing, cautions against rushing into AI without the fundamentals in place.
“Junior team members are diving into AI with real enthusiasm—which is great. But without a strong marketing foundation, it’s easy to lean on the tools without knowing how to ask the right questions or what should and shouldn’t be scaled,” she said.
If you don’t know how to design an experiment, track performance, or analyze results, using AI quickly turns into guesswork. You might get lucky, but you won’t get consistent, scalable growth.
After completing the Growclass AI Marketing and Strategy Certification, Butler was able to layer her new AI knowledge on top of her core expertise—ensuring AI tools amplified strategic decision-making rather than replacing it.
“As leaders, our role is to connect that tactical use of AI with the deeper thinking that drives results,” she said.
This is a moment for senior marketers and leaders to step up—not just by giving teams access to tools, but real training and growth opportunities. Training that connects AI’s speed with the fundamentals of strategy. Training that turns enthusiasm into impact.
The Best Teams Are Upskilling Now
AI isn’t slowing down—and neither should you. The strongest teams aren’t just rolling out new tools, they’re building the skills and mindset that make AI adoption sustainable.
You and your team need to build the knowledge and put in the reps to uncover the best ways AI is used across your unique workflows. It’s about creating an environment where your team feels like they’re shaping the future with you—not being left behind.
Anyone can buy software. Anyone can prompt ChatGPT. But, only strong leadership can set the tone for how it gets used: with curiosity, integrity, collaboration, and a human-first approach.
If you want AI to work for your company, you have to invest in your people first. That’s where real transformation happens—from the top down.
Ready to Invest In Your Team?
AI won’t replace strong marketers. But strong marketers who know how to use AI will replace the ones who don’t.
If you’re ready to give your team the skills to lead, not follow, Growclass is here to help.
Looking to level up your foundational marketing knowledge and skills? Learn more about the Growth Marketing Certification.
Have the foundations locked in? It’s time to upskill and explore the AI Marketing and Strategy Certification.
Contributing Writer