A Challenge and Opportunity: Upskilling Marketers in the Age of AI [Digital Olympus Event, September 2025]

Transcript

1. Director of Organic Growth Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries A Challenge and Opportunity: Upskilling Marketers in the Age of AI
2. @natasha_bd #DOevent AI:‌ AI:‌
3. @natasha_bd #DOevent
4. @natasha_bd #DOevent User experience Decreased traffic Attribution Job losses The Focus
5. @natasha_bd #DOevent User experience Decreased traffic Attribution Job losses Evolving roles and career progression Soft skills needed for AI success Training and upskillling impacts The Focus What’s Missing
6. @natasha_bd #DOevent Director of Organic Growth at Flywheel Digital Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries Lives In: Hamilton (Toronto), Canada Working in SEO Since: 2018 Students Taught: 200+
7. @natasha_bd #DOevent Excited 69% Both Excited and Worried 17% Worried 14% Source: SurveyMonkey 69% of marketers surveyed were excited about AI and its imapct on their job, with 14% feeling worried.
8. @natasha_bd #DOevent Source: SurveyMonkey 56% of marketers say their company is taking an active role in implementing and using AI.
9. @natasha_bd #DOevent Source: SurveyMonkey 56% of marketers say their company is taking an active role in implementing and using AI. And 48% say increasing AI adoption is a top goal.
10. @natasha_bd #DOevent 84% 16% Source: 2025 Previsible State of SEO Jobs Report Businesses Seeking SEOs With AI Skills in 2024 Q1 2024
11. @natasha_bd #DOevent 84% 16% 79% 21% Source: 2025 Previsible State of SEO Jobs Report Businesses Seeking SEOs With AI Skills in 2024 Q1 2024 Q4 2024
12. @natasha_bd #DOevent 70% of marketers surveyed reported their employer does not provide generative AI training. Source: SurveyMonkey
13. @natasha_bd #DOevent Source: Experiences in SEO Training Survey 56% of SEOs said they learned the most from on-the-job training. On-the-job training 56.1% Online articles 12.6% Online videos 9% Unaccredited asynchronous course 7.3% Other 6% Mentoring 5.5% Unaccredited synchronous course 3.6%
14. @natasha_bd #DOevent
15. @natasha_bd #DOevent
16. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift
17. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift A Mindset Shift
18. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift A Training Shift A Mindset Shift
19. @natasha_bd #DOevent The Skills Shift
20. @natasha_bd #DOevent
21. @natasha_bd #DOevent Automation of Manual and Repetitive Tasks Is Now an Expectation—Not a Bonus More time for high-impact work Needs to be part of onboarding But not without guardrails!
22. @natasha_bd #DOevent Prompt Engineering Is Now a Core Skill
23. @natasha_bd #DOevent Prompt Engineering Is Now a Core Skill Provide good context Provide clear direction Ask good questions Give good feedback
24. @natasha_bd #DOevent Use Generative AI Beyond the Interface Interface is the launching point Leverage integrations APIs are your friend
25. @natasha_bd #DOevent But it’s not just about building AI competency.
26. @natasha_bd #DOevent QAing and Fact Checking Are Critical Skills From Day 1 The stakes are higher Don’t assume competency Push responsibility for this down
27. @natasha_bd #DOevent Data and Information Security is a Shared Responsibility Understand LLMs to understand the risks Ground it in policy Vibe code with caution
28. @natasha_bd #DOevent The Mindset Shift
29. @natasha_bd #DOevent Be an Architect, Not a Carpenter Set the direction Empower the execution
30. @natasha_bd #DOevent
31. @natasha_bd #DOevent Be Mindful of Bias, Especially Automation Bias “Automation bias refers to our tendency to favor suggestions from automated decision-making systems and to ignore contradictory information made without automation, even if it is correct. “ Source: Forbes
32. @natasha_bd #DOevent Follow the 80% Rule Sweet Spot Not enough human oversight Need better prompting
33. @natasha_bd #DOevent The Training Shift
34. @natasha_bd #DOevent Teach People How LLMs Actually Work Just like search engine algorithms, social media best practices or brand guidelilnes
35. @natasha_bd #DOevent Prioritize On-The-Job Learning Don’t get bogged down in “training” Don’t let it be deprioritized Get collaborative
36. @natasha_bd #DOevent It’s Okay to Be Old School AI doesn’t belong everywhere Walk to run faster later Guardrails are good
37. @natasha_bd #DOevent Embrace AI as Part of the Process “Can you show me the prompt you used?
38. Summary @natasha_bd #DOevent
39. @natasha_bd #DOevent 2025 has left me exhausted.
40. @natasha_bd #DOevent 2025 has left me exhausted. But also more energized than ever.
41. @natasha_bd #DOevent
42. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift
43. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift A Mindset Shift
44. @natasha_bd #DOevent A Skills Shift A Training Shift A Mindset Shift
45. @natasha_bd #DOevent
46. @natasha_bd #DOevent Can You Make One Commitment as You Head Home? Enroll in a course Buy a ticket to an upcoming event Host a lunch and learn Test an AI integration Plan an innovation session
47. @natasha_bd #DOevent speakerdeck.com/natasha_bd Thank You! @natasha_bd https://flywheel.digital