How modern marketers harness AI to drive strategy, execution and competitive advantage
At a time when artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how brands connect with consumers, a new Kellogg course, AI for Marketers, is proving the value of hands-on exposure to AI through a marketing and managerial lens.
“The course created an environment where experimentation was not just promoted, but expected, allowing us to learn through iteration and come away with both practical insights and a stronger strategic foundation,” says Emily Bajalia ’26 One-Year MBA Program. “The course lectures were fundamental to my AI knowledge — delivering important context for how companies are using AI today — but the greatest value, for me, came from applying AI directly through coursework.”
AI for Marketers introduces students to key AI concepts, including machine learning and generative AI, through real-world cases and examples. Students then apply those concepts in hands-on assignments using frontier AI platforms — Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude — to create outputs that enhance marketing performance, personalization and business innovation.
“The course created an environment where experimentation was not just promoted, but expected, allowing us to learn through iteration and come away with both practical insights and a stronger strategic foundation."
“You can consume as much AI training content as you want but, as Professor Lecinski and Kellogg have emphasized, the best way to learn is by actually using it,” says Greg Hendrix ’26 One-Year MBA Program.
Jim Lecinski, who launched the course in 2026, is a clinical professor of marketing at Kellogg and a recognized AI expert, in-demand consultant and keynote speaker with more than 30 years of marketing industry experience, including a notable 12-year career at Google, where he was vice president of customer solutions for the Americas.
When students start the AI for Marketers journey, they’re met with a pre-built marketing simulation to experience and understand what a fully AI-powered marketing function would look like at a company.
They then spend the next four weeks in a simulated MBA marketing internship, where they must engage AI frontier model capabilities throughout every step of the marketing process — from deep research to customer segmentation, synthetic customer profiles, product concept development and ad campaigns.
"I thought this course was incredibly helpful and exactly the type of thing that we need to differentiate ourselves as AI-savvy marketing leaders.”
“Learning about synthetic personas was a gamechanger in terms of understanding target audiences,” says Ashwini Deshpande ’26 Two-Year MBA Program. “Most of us are not coders or AI experts but we will be working with AI on a day-to-day basis the minute we enter the workforce. I thought this course was incredibly helpful and exactly the type of thing that we need to differentiate ourselves as AI-savvy marketing leaders.”
One of the things that stuck for Bajalia is Lecinski saying that AI will raise the floor and the ceiling for marketers. It raises the floor by making high-quality first drafts and sophisticated analysis accessible to more people. It raises the ceiling by enabling the best marketers to move faster, explore more options and spend more time for judgment and strategy.
“This course is designed to help future marketing leaders move beyond simply talking about AI and start using it in thoughtful, practical ways,” says Lecinski. “My goal is for students to leave not just with awareness of the tools, but with the judgment, confidence, and hands-on experience to apply AI across the full marketing process. The marketers who will stand out in the years ahead are the ones who know how to combine AI’s speed and scale with uniquely human strategy, creativity and leadership.”
Four takeaways from AI for Marketers
As Hendrix prepares to graduate this year, we asked him for his biggest takeaways from AI for Marketers.
- Utilize AI for both productivity and growth
Most companies just focus on productivity (e.g. automating repetitive tasks) but there's major opportunities to leverage AI for internal and external growth (new revenue streams, etc.). - Automate workflows using AI
AI models are powerful tools that can greatly enhance our speed and effectiveness. The goal, after leveraging AI for a task, is to build an automated AI workflow so you or the next person aren't starting from scratch the next time you do the same process/task. - Leverage AI for synthetic personas and prompting
One of the most useful applications of AI in marketing today is synthetic ideal customer profiles. The ability to test your product or idea immediately with a synthetic ICP before you spend the time/money to build is very powerful. - Prompts matter
Creating the right prompt for an AI model can completely change the output you receive. Who better to help you prompt than the AI model itself.
As AI advances at an unprecedented pace, Kellogg has established itself as a leader in the development of pathbreaking, experiential courses. This includes popular options for Full-Time MBA and Evening & Weekend MBA students, like AI for Marketers, AI Foundations for Managers and Negotiating in a Virtual World.
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