Your team is using AI. Probably a lot of it. ChatGPT for emails, Claude for analysis, various tools for various tasks, real productivity gains happening. But are those gains adding up to strategic capability? Or could you still be stuck at the random acts of productivity stage of adoption?

How casual employee use of Chat GPT and other tools at work creates both significant risks and untapped opportunities that require strategic attention.

Shadow AI refers to employees using personal AI accounts for work tasks without official approval or oversight. The applications are typically straightforward - drafting emails, summarizing documents, basic research - but the scale and business implications are substantial.

AI is dominating the conversation in marketing – but how do leaders cut through the hype, build confidence, and create teams ready to thrive in this new era?

In this episode of Unapologetically B2B, Bright MD Zoe Merchant sits down with Rebecca Allen, founder of Pardalis and expert in responsible AI adoption, to explore how marketing leaders can embrace AI without losing sight of strategy, creativity, or trust.

Together, they dive into:

• Confidence in the age of AI – how leaders can overcome overwhelm and guide their teams with clarity and transparency.

• Test, learn, lead – the importance of experimentation, governance, and role modelling when adopting new tools.

• Creating safe spaces – building a culture of curiosity, responsibility, and psychological safety.

• Measuring value, not just output – moving beyond time saved to real impact on creativity, customer connection, and business growth.

• The human edge – why emotional intelligence, vision, and authentic connection remain essential in B2B marketing.

If you want practical steps to start small, build confidence, and scale AI responsibly within your team, this episode is packed with insights and actionable advice.

Tune in and discover how to prepare your marketing team for the AI-powered future – with purpose, transparency, and human leadership at the core.

Watch Rebecca Allen in conversation with Nicola Smith, Senior AI Programs Advisor at Southwest Airlines, shares how the airline is taking a human-centred approach to AI—reducing friction, not headcount. Watch to learn how Southwest is enhancing operations, aligning teams, building trust through governance and communication, and upskilling for the AI-enabled workplace with empathy, design thinking, and long-term value in mind

When I started out in B2B media over 20 years ago, I was recruited to the ‘dark side’. I clearly recall a literal line on the office floor that marked the editorial department’s territory, past which the advertising sales team were never to cross…

Media has always had a historic separation of ‘church and state’, with advertising often perceived as a necessary evil for revenue generation. Interruptive online ad formats added to its woes, eventually raising audience annoyance, and decreasing impact for brands in equal measures. And poorly executed ‘advertorials’ earned early commercial content a somewhat tarnished reputation amongst journalists and readers alike.