What AI Persona Are You?

This Week

This week, you can discover your AI persona and how it shapes your AI adoption. We’re also exploring the AI startup scene that’s exploded over the past year, Google’s NotebookLM, the AI tool everyone’s buzzing about. Plus, we’ll look at how AI is poised to contribute nearly $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and Salesforce’s newest AI agents and how CMOs are leading the charge in AI-driven business success.

Read on!

What’s Your AI Persona?

What AI persona are you?

Slack’s Workforce Index research shows that the urgency to implement AI has intensified in the last year, but the majority of workers have still never tried AI at work.

Slack’s survey of 5,000 full-time desk workers uncovered five AI personas:

• The Maximalist (30%): Maximalists use AI multiple times a week to improve their work and are shouting from the rooftops about it.

• The Underground (20%): Undergrounds are Maximalists in disguise, using AI often but hesitant to share with their colleagues that they are doing so.

• The Rebel (19%): Rebels don’t subscribe to the AI hype. They avoid using AI and consider it unfair when coworkers use these tools.

• The Superfan (16%): Superfans are excited about and admire the advances made in AI, but they aren’t yet making the most of it at work.

• The Observer (16%): Observers have yet to integrate AI into their work. They are watching with interest and caution.

According to Slack, workers’ attitudes and opinions about AI drive their behavior and adoption patterns. Knowing what persona you and your team fall into can help you build an AI roadmap for moving forward.

Take the quiz here.

Which AI Startups Will Survive?

There are now 70,000+ AI startups worldwide. So which will end up being the next Netflix, Google, and Salesforce – and which are doomed to close their doors by 2026?

David Morse, former VP at Heppia and Scale AI, has seen his fair share of promising (and concerning) AI business models. David talked to Section CEO Greg Shove about promising AI models and who will most likely succeed.

If you don’t have time to watch the 60-minute webinar, here are the key takeaways:

Delivering AI ROI requires specificity

"I think it’s easier to get to ROI for a specific use case. You can say, 'It’s worth this much to me from an ROI basis, and it costs this much." – David Morse.

The importance of small initial AI pilots

“You’ll need a narrow use case to show it works, and you’re going to need a deep commitment because there will be obstacles.” – Greg Shove.

Choose workflows with a tolerance for imperfection

“It’s good to think about use cases that don’t require perfect precision or accuracy every time as a starting point for these applications.” – David Morse.

Unsurprisingly, the industries with the highest proportion of AI Experts are consulting (19%), B2B software (14%), and advertising/media/branding (10%)

The industries with the lowest share of AI Experts are retail (0%), manufacturing (0%), and healthcare (1%) 

Want to watch the webinar? You’ll find it on the Section website.

Salesforce Launches Agentforce

Salesforce unveiled Agentforce last week, its new suite of AI-powered autonomous agents designed to augment business functions like customer service, marketing and sales.

According to Salesforce, an Agentforce Agent is a proactive, autonomous application that provides specialized, always-on support to users. They're equipped with your business knowledge so they can execute tasks according to their specific role.

Want to try it out? 

You can start with several out-of-the-box agents, including service, sales development, and marketing campaign optimization. These agents can be customized to your specific needs - no coding required.

Meet Agentforce here. 

Why Everyone’s Talking About NotebookLM

Google’s NotebookLM goes beyond note-taking—it’s an AI-powered assistant that organizes, summarizes, and even generates content from your notes. One standout feature? It can transform your documents into a podcast that feels like a lively conversation.

I recently loaded five long, dry reports on travel distribution tech into NotebookLM. Within minutes, it generated a 20-minute podcast featuring two co-hosts bantering back and forth, making the dense material surprisingly fun to listen to.

If you want to try this out for yourself, this video by Tiago Forte is a good place to start or you can dive right in at NotebookLM.

AI’s $19.9 Trillion Economic Impact

According to IDC’s latest report, artificial intelligence will generate a massive $19.9 trillion contribution to the global economy by 2030. AI is predicted to account for 3.5% of global GDP.

What’s driving the surge? Businesses embracing AI to streamline operations, boost productivity, and deliver better products and services.

One stat that stood out: every dollar spent on AI in 2030 is expected to return $4.60 in indirect and induced benefits. The ripple effect of AI adoption is transforming everything from contact centers and translation services to complex fields like accounting and machinery inspection. 

And with 98% of business leaders prioritizing AI, the workforce will see shifts. Positions like AI Ethics Specialists and Prompt Engineers are emerging, while roles requiring social and emotional intelligence will remain essential.

Read the IDC report here.

Marketing Leaders Driving Business Success With AI

In the AI race, marketing isn’t just keeping up—it’s leading the pack. CMOs are driving AI innovation across the enterprise.

As enterprises race to adopt generative AI, marketing leaders are stepping up, showing everyone else how it’s done. Martech contributors, Andrew Frank and Nicole Greene explain that CMOs are connecting AI investments directly to bottom-line results like increased revenue and customer satisfaction. 

But it’s not just about plugging in tech; it’s about knowing which use cases move the needle, building the right business cases, and supercharging productivity.

There are three key areas for AI's business impact: 

1. Link AI to business outcomes: Identify use cases with measurable benefits.

2. Transform the workforce: Train and upskill employees while reassuring them about new opportunities.

3. Confront AI risks: Set content standards and enhance media monitoring.

It’s clear: the future of AI in business runs through marketing

Read the full article on MarTech.