What is AI-forward marketing?

AI-forward marketing is the practice of using generative AI tools — large language models, image generation, and AI agents — to plan, produce, and distribute marketing content while preserving a clear brand voice and editorial judgment. It pairs AI for speed and scale with humans for strategy and quality control.

Who does Marji Sherman work with?

Marji works with B2B SaaS, financial services, healthcare, and consumer brands whose in-house marketing teams want to integrate AI into social media, content, and editorial. Past clients include Capital One, KOHLER Co., the ADL, the United Methodist Church, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?

Answer Engine Optimization is the discipline of structuring brand content so it can be cited and surfaced by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. It includes entity-clear copy, FAQ schema, structured data, and topic authority — and it is now a core part of every engagement Marji runs.

How long does an engagement take?

Most strategy engagements run six to twelve weeks. Workshops are one to two days. Ongoing advisory retainers are quarterly. Marji takes on a small number of partner engagements per quarter to keep work hands-on.

Will AI replace my marketing team?

No. AI replaces tasks, not teams. The brands winning right now are the ones whose marketers learn to direct AI — using it for research, drafting, and repurposing, while keeping editorial judgment, taste, and brand voice in human hands.

My top AI tools

The AI tools Marji actually uses

A curated, opinionated list of the AI tools Marji J. Sherman recommends to clients across writing, image, video, audio, search, automation, and marketing platforms. Updated as the tools evolve.

TL;DR

What AI tools does Marji Sherman recommend? For chat: ChatGPT and Claude. For AI search: Perplexity. For image: Midjourney and Adobe Firefly. For writing platforms: Jasper, Writer, Notion AI, and Frase. For workflows: Zapier, Make, n8n, and Custom GPTs. For marketing platforms: HubSpot AI, Salesforce Einstein, Mailchimp AI, and Mutiny. Full breakdown with links below.

AI Models & Chatbots

ChatGPT: OpenAI's conversational AI assistant. Marji's default for drafting, research, and reasoning out loud. The single most-used tool in modern marketing workflows.
Claude: Anthropic's family of large language models. Strongest writing voice, long context windows, careful reasoning. Marji uses Claude for long-form editorial work and brand voice training.
Gemini: Google's multimodal AI. Integrated into Workspace, Search (AI Overviews), and the standalone Gemini chatbot. Useful for fast factual answers and image generation.
Perplexity: AI answer engine that returns chatbot answers with cited sources. The reference implementation of AEO and the tool Marji uses for ongoing research and competitor citation tracking.

AI Writing & Content

Jasper: Marketing-focused AI writing platform with brand voice features. Strong for content teams running high-volume editorial.
Writer: Enterprise AI platform with custom-trained models and brand-voice enforcement. Marji recommends Writer for in-house teams that need governance and compliance baked in.
Notion AI: AI features built into Notion — drafting, summarization, translation, Q&A across a workspace. Useful for internal documentation and meeting notes.
Frase: AI-assisted SEO and content brief tool that turns search queries into structured outlines and optimized drafts. Strong AEO research surface.

AI Image & Video

Midjourney: High-quality generative image tool known for stylized, editorial output. Marji uses Midjourney for moodboards, brand visual exploration, and editorial collateral.
DALL·E (in ChatGPT): OpenAI's image generation, integrated into ChatGPT for prompt-based image creation. Good for quick concept art inside a chat workflow.
Adobe Firefly: Adobe's generative AI, integrated into Photoshop, Illustrator, and Express. Trained on commercially licensed content. Marji's go-to for client-safe image generation.
Sora: OpenAI's text-to-video model. Good for short-form social and brand films.
Runway: AI video generation and editing for creative directors and marketing teams.
Canva AI: Built-in AI features inside Canva — Magic Write, Magic Design, AI image generation. Lowest barrier for non-design marketers.

AI Audio

ElevenLabs: Voice cloning and generation. Marji uses it for branded audio content, podcast intros, and accessibility narration.
Descript: AI-powered audio and video editing — edit by editing the transcript. Built-in studio sound, filler-word removal, and AI voiceover.
Riverside: High-quality remote podcast and video recording with AI editing tools.

AI Search & AEO Tools

Perplexity: See above. Also a critical tool for monitoring how AI engines describe a brand.
ChatGPT Search: OpenAI's in-product web search with citations.
Google AI Overviews: AI-generated answer summaries at the top of Google results. Marji watches AI Overviews to see which brands get cited for high-intent searches.
Surfer SEO: Content optimization with AI suggestions based on top-ranking pages. Useful for the SEO + AEO overlap.
Frase: See above. Frase's question discovery is particularly strong for AEO.

AI Automation & Workflows

Zapier: Workflow automation across thousands of apps, now with AI-powered actions and AI agents. Marji uses Zapier to wire AI tools into existing client stacks.
Make: More flexible than Zapier for complex multi-step workflows. Better visual canvas.
n8n: Open-source workflow automation. Self-hostable; preferred for security-sensitive clients.
Custom GPTs: OpenAI's no-code custom assistants. Marji builds branded GPTs for clients that codify their voice, audience knowledge, and SOPs into a single instance.

AI for Marketing Platforms

HubSpot AI: AI features inside HubSpot — content drafting, predictive analytics, AI-powered chat.
Salesforce Einstein: Salesforce's AI layer across Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud.
Mailchimp AI: AI-assisted subject lines, content blocks, and send-time optimization for email.
Mutiny: AI-driven website personalization. Useful for B2B teams running ABM programs.

How does Marji choose AI tools for clients?

Marji evaluates AI tools against four criteria: brand-voice fidelity (does it sound like your brand or like everyone else?), workflow fit (can your team actually use it tomorrow?), security and licensing (where does the data live and what does the license cover?), and total cost of operation (per-seat, per-token, switching cost). The stack above reflects what survives that filter today.

Want a custom AI stack for your team?

Every AI Consulting engagement starts with an AI audit and ends with a written, voice-aligned stack recommendation tailored to your team's channels, governance needs, and budget. See AI consulting services →

Want a custom AI stack built for your brand?

A small number of partner engagements per quarter.

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