12 Days of OpenAI: What Marketers Can Take Away (So Far)

We’re halfway through OpenAI’s “12 Days of AI,” and the updates are already coming fast. Not every release is included here, as some, like Day 2, may be exciting but don’t yet impact the daily tasks of most marketers. That said, the ones that follow stand out for their potential to change how marketing teams work. For marketers, whether leading a national brand’s channel strategy or running local campaigns, it’s a lot to process. Even for those of us who work closely with AI every day, keeping up with the pace of innovation can feel overwhelming.

Beneath all the announcements and technical jargon are real opportunities. OpenAI’s latest features are not just interesting innovations. They have the potential to solve some of the daily challenges marketers face in scaling content, improving collaboration, and maximizing ROI. Here’s a breakdown of the updates and the opportunities they bring.

The o1 Model: Advanced Reasoning for Smarter Marketing

(Launched on Day 1)

The o1 model’s advanced reasoning capabilities make it feel like a marketing strategist built into your toolkit. For small marketing teams that often struggle to address complex problems like co-op fund allocation, refining incentive programs, or analyzing partner performance, the o1 model can act as a dedicated marketing strategist. Many teams continue running the same programs year after year simply because they lack the resources to dive deeper into these challenges. With the o1 model, they gain a powerful assistant to take on this strategic heavy lifting.

Imagine having a strategist who can predict which partners will most likely deliver ROI based on past campaign data or help refine incentive structures to motivate performance better. For corporate marketers, the o1 model offers strategic insights to address these challenges and break free from repetitive programs. For local marketers, it can go a step further by providing hyper-targeted campaign suggestions that seamlessly blend local audience insights with the overarching brand strategy.

This isn’t just about crunching numbers. It’s about turning unresolved complexities into clear, actionable strategies that finally move the needle.

Sora: Scaling Video Without Breaking the Bank

(Launched on Day 3)

If you have followed my posts or discussed marketing and AI with me, you know my hope for GenAI video content. I was bullish on the advancements for 2024 but ultimately disappointed as the year progressed; however, Sora is refueling my excitement and hope. Video marketing is one of the most effective tools available, but it is also one of the most expensive and time-consuming. OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video tool has the potential to democratize video creation, particularly for small and local businesses that have traditionally been priced out of professional video production.

Creating high-quality, community-specific video content has always been challenging for local marketers due to limited resources. Sora changes this by empowering local businesses to produce polished videos tailored to their unique customer base and community without requiring a large budget or production team. These videos can align more closely with local needs while maintaining a professional standard.

Corporate marketers benefit, too, as Sora is poised to enable customizable video templates that local marketers can adapt. This strikes a balance between maintaining brand consistency and allowing for localized creativity. Channel marketers often want local partners to use corporate-approved assets with minimal customization, but Sora has the potential to allow marketers to bridge the gap between global guidelines and local relevance.

By lowering the barriers to video production, Sora fosters a more dynamic and inclusive marketing environment where corporate and local teams can collaborate effectively to deliver content that truly resonates.

Canvas: Writing Gets an Upgrade

(Launched on Day 4)

Canvas could quietly become a marketer’s best friend by streamlining workflows and cutting out inefficiencies.

There are great AI writing tools for marketers, such as Jasper and Writer. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of those tools, but they live in their own ecosystems. Canvas gives you a collaboration experience directly with ChatGPT. If you’re like me and have given ChatGPT feedback on something to have it continually rewrite and rewrite the entire piece, getting rid of that annoyance is a big deal.

If you’re already heavily relying on ChatGPT for your genAI needs, Canvas will become your best friend.

Advanced Voice Mode with Video

(Launched on Day 6)

Corporate marketing teams are often overwhelmed with the field’s support needs. OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode with Video is a promising enhancement, allowing users to share a video of what they see or a screen share of their device. This functionality has the potential to enhance how support is delivered without requiring additional staff.

Imagine a local marketer struggling to navigate a new tool or campaign instructions. Instead of lengthy email threads or frustrating phone calls, they can now share their screen or video feed in real-time with ChatGPT, which provides immediate guidance.

This feature is designed to enhance collaboration by allowing users to share visual information while ChatGPT provides relevant suggestions or context in real-time.

Projects: The Organization Hub We’ve Needed

(Launched on Day 7)

For power users of ChatGPT, keeping track of past conversations and outputs can often feel like scrolling through an endless archive. Projects simplifies this by providing a central hub to organize your work directly within ChatGPT. It allows you to store and manage your existing conversations and outputs, making it easier to revisit and reuse your work efficiently.

For marketers, Projects provides an easy way to revisit and manage ChatGPT-generated strategies, campaign work, and brainstorming outputs. This feature prioritizes organization and efficiency, making it a practical addition to any marketing workflow.

Overwhelmed? You’re Not Alone

If you feel like you can barely keep up with all these updates, you are not alone. Even for those of us who follow AI developments closely, the pace of innovation is relentless. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement without knowing where to start.

The good news is that these tools have the potential to address specific challenges, especially for teams already exploring AI-based workflows. You do not need to adopt everything at once. Start with the feature that aligns most closely with your needs. Sora could help if video production is a bottleneck. The o1 model could provide clarity if decision-making feels overwhelming. By starting small, you can build confidence in these tools and integrate them into your strategy over time.

As we approach the second half of OpenAI’s 12 Days, it is clear that more updates are on the horizon. Based on what we have seen so far, these tools will continue to push boundaries and expand opportunities for marketers.

I will be watching closely to see what comes next. As new features roll out, I will focus on identifying the tools that simplify workflows, scale efforts, and strengthen collaboration across teams and partners.

What feature are you most excited about so far? Let’s keep the conversation going and make sense of what these changes mean for the future of marketing.