A step-by-step checklist to build an AI-powered marketing workflow
This checklist is based on the workflow that Jess Tyson and her team at Don't Panic Management use to save roughly 75% of the time they spend on research tasks. Read the full story, A decade-long VA on how AI makes you harder to replace, to learn how Tyson's team uses AI to make them better marketers.
Get the checklist
By the end of this checklist, you’ll have AI integrated into the three phases of your marketing work: imagine, activate, and validate. Setup takes roughly 1–2 hours across all three phases.
Before you start
- Create or confirm your ChatGPT account: free tier works, but Plus gives faster responses for research-heavy tasks
- Audit your current tool stack: check whether AI features are already built into tools you use (Grammarly, Asana, ClickUp, Canva)
- Pick one recurring task that takes 30+ minutes: this becomes your first AI experiment
“It wasn’t that I didn’t realize it was AI, but I didn’t really think about it as something that was particularly impacting us in any meaningful way.”
The workflow
Phase I: Use AI to imagine
After this phase, you’ll have: a library of AI-generated starting points for content, design, and research projects
- Generate content topic ideas: open ChatGPT and prompt it with your niche and audience to get a list of blog post or social media topics (see prompt below)
- Set up Google NotebookLM for new projects: upload key documents (client briefs, brand guidelines, past content) and use it to distill large information sets into summaries when starting a new project
- Try Canva AI for design drafts: use Canva’s AI features to generate starting points for blog graphics, social media posts, or event invitations
- Use Descript for content repurposing: upload podcast or video recordings and let Descript pull out the best clips, generate captions, and create transcripts
Audience prompt
I run a [TYPE_OF_BUSINESS] that serves [TARGET_AUDIENCE]. Generate 10 blog post ideas that address common questions or challenges this audience faces. Focus on practical, how-to topics.
Phase 2: Use AI to activate
After this phase, you’ll have: AI handling project scaffolding, research shortcuts, and writing cleanup across your daily work
- Build project timelines with AI: use the AI features in Asana or ClickUp to generate project skeletons with subtasks and due dates (use the project timeline prompt below)
- Use ChatGPT to shortcut research tasks: the next time you need to set up an integration or figure out a new tool, describe the task to ChatGPT and get step-by-step instructions instead of spending 20 minutes researching on your own
- Configure Grammarly for audience-specific writing: set up Grammarly’s AI features to fine-tune your writing voice based on specific audience context
“ChatGPT wrote out the steps I needed to take so I didn’t have to spend 20 minutes researching how to do it myself.”
Phase 3: Use AI to validate
After this phase, you’ll have: AI-assisted audience research that grounds your campaigns in real market data
- Research your target audience with AI: prompt ChatGPT with the audience research prompt below to analyze how competitors communicate, what drip campaigns they run, and what lead magnets resonate in your industry
- Validate campaign assumptions before launch: use AI to pressure-test your messaging and positioning against what’s already working in your market
- Review and refine all AI output: remember that every AI-generated draft needs a human review pass for accuracy, tone, and brand alignment
Audience research prompt
I’m running a marketing campaign for a [TYPE_OF_BUSINESS] in the [INDUSTRY] space. Help me understand: How do other businesses in this industry communicate with customers? What kinds of drip campaigns are common? What lead magnet ideas would resonate with [TARGET_AUDIENCE]? What questions are my potential customers asking?
Quick reference
- Total time: 1–2 hours for initial setup across all three phases
- Tools needed: ChatGPT, Google NotebookLM, Canva, Descript, Grammarly, Asana or ClickUp
- Key output: AI integrated into your ideation, execution, and validation workflows with measurable time savings on research and project scaffolding
Ready for the full story?
Read A decade-long VA on how AI makes you harder to replace featuring Jess Tyson on the AI Lab by ActiveCampaign.
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