| Summary: | Content, such as blog texts or videos, made to satisfy the needs of the customer is seen as the key to successful marketing. As a new aspect to content marketing, in the early 2020s, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning software and large language models (LLMs) are adopted on the organizational level. Generative AI (GenAI), such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is said to change the landscape of content marketing and personalization of content, as it is easy to use and can produce content faster than a human counterpart. GenAI can also help less resourceful organizations, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost their content marketing.
While generative AI has a lot of advantages, it suffers from multiple weaknesses and ethical issues, too. For instance, LLMs might have biased algorithms, and data privacy is one of the ethical considerations. Also, research about GenAI use in SMEs is still lacking data. Smaller organizations might also lack the knowledge to regulate the use of GenAI due to its novelty. Therefore, this study aimed to find out, what are the opinions of marketing professionals in Finnish SMEs about GenAI tools and how are they currently using it for their benefit. The literature review explored both advantages and disadvantages of GenAI tools thoroughly and built a thematic map for the study of this thesis.
Following the thematic map, qualitative semi-structured interviews were held to understand how the marketing professionals perceive the value of GenAI tools in their work. The study contributed to extant theory by taking SMEs into consideration, emphasizing the small enterprise perspective. The results indicated that marketing professionals in SMEs acknowledge the weaknesses and ethical considerations but use GenAI to boost creativity and as a sparring partner in marketing activities. The guidance for GenAI use is partly inadequate although professionals recognize the necessity of guidelines. This master’s thesis provides managerial implications for organizational guidelines for GenAI as well as for the most efficient marketing use cases.
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