Tools
Marketing operations AI tools I actually use.
The question I get most often isn't whether to use AI — it's which of the thousand tools are worth the licence. Below are examples from my working stack as a marketing operations AI specialist: OpenAI, Anthropic, Midjourney, Lovable and others I use inside real teams. But the real value isn't the brand names — it's the diagnosis that decides which tools fit where.
There are hundreds of alternatives. I choose, combine and sometimes build bespoke tools based on how the work actually moves, not on the latest launch. No affiliate links, no sponsorships.
Reasoning, writing and strategy
The layer where briefs get sharpened, positioning gets tested and first drafts stop taking a day. These are examples — the actual mix depends on the team's workflow and governance rules.
Content and creative production
The volume layer. This is where an AI operating model pays for itself — one master idea becomes every format without weeks of manual rework. Tools change; the operating model around them is what lasts.
Midjourney
Visual exploration, concept imagery and campaign moodboards
Runway
AI video generation, editing and rapid versioning
ElevenLabs
Voice and audio for versioning, localisation and accessibility
Figma
Design systems — with AI plugins for variant generation
Canva
Templated, on-brand production at team level
Automation, workflow and bespoke tools
The plumbing. The unglamorous part of marketing operations that quietly removes the manual handoffs between every other tool — and the bespoke internal tools built when off-the-shelf products don't fit.
Lovable
Building the bespoke internal tools the stack doesn't cover — like this site
Make
Complex multi-step workflows and data routing between systems
Zapier
No-code automation between common marketing systems
n8n
Self-hosted agentic workflows when governance and control matter
Notion
The operating layer — briefs, calendars, knowledge base with AI on top
Distribution, SEO, CRM and performance
The measurement layer. Tools are only worth their licence if you can see what they return — and if the data actually changes how the team works.
HubSpot
CRM and marketing automation with AI built in
Salesforce
Enterprise CRM, account data and revenue operations
Semrush
Keyword demand, competitive visibility and AI-search tracking
Google Analytics 4
The baseline truth about traffic, conversion and behaviour
Looker Studio
Marketing dashboards that turn scattered data into one source of truth
The tool is 20%. The diagnosis and operating model are the rest.
Buying any of these without mapping the workflow first just gives you a faster mess. I always start with the team's actual process: where the time goes, where the handoffs break, and where AI can remove friction without adding noise. The right tools come out of that analysis — never the other way around.
Want the same approach in your team? Start with the AI operating model guide, or get in touch and I'll tell you which three tools your team actually needs — and which to skip.