Essential insights for leading an AI-forward digital marketing agency

As one of Imarc's leaders and someone deeply entrenched in the AI landscape, I've learned a thing or two about leading an AI-forward digital marketing agency. Today, I'll share some of my observations and insights in the hope that they help you advance your own team.

Attending AI events

I've been attending a lot of industry events and practicing working with the new technology. Here are some of the ones I've enjoyed most.

The September AI Women’s Event from Women Applying AI

This group is currently offering free memberships to women! As a proponent of women in the workforce, I'm delighted to hear this. At this fall event, they asked attendees if they were AI-curious or AI-savvy, because, as 50% of the population is women, they must know how to use AI to avoid being left behind. You can't lead from the back...

Key insight: To be a successful leader, you must put yourself in a position to lead with AI.

September 2025's Agentic Connect in Boston, Massachusetts

At this event, we broke into three groups of ten, with one person in charge of an AI agent. The teams identified the business problems we were facing, and we selected one aspect to address. We chose "How to deliver better client service," and then did a group Agent brainstorm to shape an answer. In the end, we created a comprehensive plan for account management based on collaborative input. It was such a valuable live use case, and it got me thinking about how we can transform our brainstorms here at the agency!

Key insight: Leveraging AI as a tool for group human collaboration can yield significant results.

Chief's Boston Professional Chapter: A Hands-On Approach to AI Learning

I love attending Chief events! They are always inspiring. At this one, we did an exercise in solving personal issues. The subject my group chose was centered on the trauma of losing parents at a young age. We started to map out a plan about how to start a nonprofit to support other children who lose parents early on. After selecting our topic and need, we went old-school with pen and paper and then ultimately shifted to AI-forward methods.

Key takeaway: There are many ways to tackle a problem, and one of them can utilize AI.

Our team has also attended several AI-focused Mass Technology Leadership Council (MTLC) events, developer conferences such as WordCamp 2025, and other relevant get-togethers. We expect to go to even more of them in 2026 as the technology advances.

Hosting a different kind of AI event

We recently had the pleasure of hosting our own AI event! It was an Open Mic & Mixer during the inaugural Boston AI Week, which was much more casual than a typical AI event. After the intimate night, several people reached out to us to say how much they enjoyed speaking with others who were looking to learn more about or are currently using AI in their business in an open forum.

Key insight: Making AI accessible and starting genuine conversations about it is important. We can learn a great deal from one another!

How I'm using AI, personally & professionally

There's no use denying it—AI is a part of our lives now. And there are plenty of ways to integrate it without it taking over. On the personal side, I've found it helpful for little life things, such as using a hodgepodge of ingredients from my fridge to create a recipe that feeds my family. To get even more personal, it can be a source of validation for what you already know to be true.

Recently, I was informed that I have breast cancer. It was detected early, so I am dealing with this as I do everything else. Strategically. I've been giving it my all while balancing leading the agency, and I'm happy to say that surgeries and radiation can't stop me. I've learned that I'm stronger than I could've possibly known, and I've been supported not just by my family, but by my Imarc team, which helps.

Anyhow, for those who don't have personal experience with it, wading through pathology results can be overwhelming. My sister decided to put my anonymized report into ChatGPT to get my projected outcome, and it aligned exactly with what the doctor said (in a way that was very easy to understand). AI is becoming adept at helping us digest even complex news, and I appreciate that.

On the professional side, I use it for business development all the time! When its use is supported by the terms of the request for proposal (RFP), I run anonymized versions through different platforms to confirm the top priorities I suss out. I also use it on LinkedIn to streamline quick posts for my personal page. Sometimes I take advantage of it to enhance prospect plans. While I do come up with the points I want to emphasize in advance, it acts as an extra set of eyes and sharpens my strategy further.

As long as you provide it with the right prompt, AI can serve as an objective party that helps inform your decisions.

Championing AI use at Imarc

I firmly believe this quote from Dr. Stephen Brown: "You are not a leader until you have produced another leader who can produce another leader."

That's why, at Imarc, I constantly put my team in positions to lead. Leading with AI is no exception!

If my team wants to attend AI events, write about AI, or practice with it, I would like to know how I can support them. One of our primary AI leaders is Jeff Turcotte, our Director of Engineering, who has recently penned a piece of his own about engineering leadership in the AI era.

Key insight: I can only speak to Imarc's results with AI, but from our vantage point, we're seeing more and more leads come in from AEO sources. Each one we've received has been a well-qualified match for the agency. This demonstrates that we are producing work that aligns with what they are seeking. All I'm saying is that trying AI, even in a minimal sense, has already benefited our digital agency, and I encourage others to do the same.

Just start

If you search "Just start," you'll see a wide variety of leaders from Seth Godin and Richard Branson to Sheryl Sandberg and James Clear, all extolling the virtues of beginning, whether you're the best or not. More likely, you won't be when you do, but everyone has a day one. If you're concerned, consider experimenting with AI in your personal life before applying it to your professional life. In marketing, we have a different perspective on things. Not every industry is using AI as actively as our we are, but they will soon!

For example, the Healthcare and Life Sciences, Financial Services, Media and Communications, Manufacturing, and Education and Nonprofit sectors are seeing major impact potential for AI, but others like Construction aren't.

At the heart of it, I'm using AI as another problem-solving tool. I'm always asking myself, "What is the business issue you are trying to solve?" Our team doesn't use AI just for the sake of using AI—we use it to deliver value. That's the lens I hope everyone adopts. That, and a curiosity about it.

Use it, get familiar with it, and become comfortable with it. AI doesn't always have to solve a problem, but it may just do that for you in a surprising way.

Did you like this piece? I'm ready and waiting to talk about it with you. Just say hello.