MAICON brings together top visionaries and experts in the field of AI during a three-day conference packed with actionable sessions and networking events—all to position you as the change agent your organization (and career) needs. In this ongoing speaker series, we’re featuring these extraordinary leaders, with forward-looking predictions, actionable tips you can use today, and a preview of their MAICON 2025 sessions.
Andy Crestodina is the Co-founder & CMO of Orbit Media Studios, an award-winning agency focused on web development and optimization. Andy spent decades mastering the art of digital marketing by hand, from SEO and content marketing to data analysis and conversion optimization.
So during the rise of AI, he wasn’t starting from scratch. Andy began the era armed with 500+ articles, 100+ videos, dozens of presentations, and a book detailing many facets of marketing methods. It was a perfect launchpad to turn proven content into powerful prompts and automations.
“It’s like a new land was discovered and I already had a fleet of ships,” Andy said.
But as he, like many marketers, noticed content aging faster than ever, he turned to AI not just to repurpose—but to stay relevant. Today, Andy uses AI to keep his work sharp, current, and scalable in a rapidly changing digital world.
Keep reading to see how Andy leverages AI automations to make his content work harder, and last longer.
Session Preview: Custom GPTs, Your New Secret Weapon
If you're still relying on one-off or reusable prompts to get results with AI, you're not alone. Many marketers are. But there’s a more powerful way to scale your impact.
After countless hours of testing and refinement, Andy Crestodina has developed ways to build automations for marketing performance. Yes, they’re CustomGPTs, but the instructions are portable. You could make them into Gemini Gems or Claude Projects. It’s all the same idea.
“Custom GPTs can be designed to create deliverables or do analysis and strategy,” he said. “They can be shared with the world, or be your internal secret weapon.”
There are mostly two kinds of customGPTs:
- Tools: GPTs fine-tuned to perform a single specific task
- Coaches: GPTs built to provide input, give advice, provide a point of view
In either case, these are a step above reusable prompts, but still a step below autonomous AI agents. Often, they can be built to combine prompts in a multi-step process:
Andy added:
“Eventually, we all learn that AI skills and methods evolve from one-shot prompts to reusable prompts to automations to semi-independent agents.”
In this session, you’ll learn exactly how Andy builds and customizes GPTs, from initial idea to a fully functioning tool, so you can create your own AI assets that drive results at scale.
Lesson Learned: AI Is Better At Writing Prompts Than You Are
“This is the big unlock: First, you realize that every prompt you’ve ever written was just a draft, and that AI can improve that draft,” said Andy.
It’s a big mindset shift. Instead of treating prompts as one-and-done commands, see them as starting points or raw material that AI can help you refine into high-performing tools. Once perfected, these prompts can be reused, scaled, and even embedded into larger workflows.
Andy takes it a step further: every step in your marketing or analysis process can be supported by a relevant prompt, which can then be turned into an automation or evolved into a powerful AI agent.
“Now you're an AI process engineer,” he said. “Now you’re the boss of a small team of AI agents.”
Looking Ahead: Focus On the Tools That Create the Deliverables
As AI continues to automate manual tasks, many predict marketing teams will shrink. Andy Crestodina doesn’t disagree—but he sees it as an opportunity, not a threat.
This translates to retraining, rethinking your role, and reframing what it means to be a creator.
“Shift the joy of creation from creating deliverables to creating the tools that create the deliverables,” he said.
Links We Like
How to Use AI to Optimize Your Website for Lead Generation
In this video, Andy overviews how to leverage AI to improve your website’s service and product pages. Scroll down to the description for timestamps and specific topics of interest.
Lead Generation 101: How to Increase Conversion Rates on Your B2B Website
Looking to create a high-converting landing page? Look no further. This article outlines all the key elements you need to incorporate, including a sample wireframe.
The Prompt Library Starter Kit: 20 AI Prompts for B2B Lead Gen Marketers
In this blog post, Andy outlines 20 specific prompts grouped by categories: AI for research and personas, AI for content marketing, AI for SEO, AI for social media, AI for lead generation, and AI for GA4 analysis. You’ll want to bookmark this one!
Andy’s Session at MAICON
Better Than Prompts: How to Build Custom GPTs for Marketers
As marketers explore the potential of generative AI, many quickly discover the limitations of using simple prompts in tools like ChatGPT. While helpful, prompts alone fall short when tackling complex or repeatable marketing tasks that demand nuance, consistency, and context.
Enter Custom GPTs—tailored AI tools within ChatGPT that combine memory, instructions, and uploaded data to deliver more structured, repeatable results. These advanced AI automations enable marketers to streamline workflows, enhance quality, and drive scalable outcomes without relying on one-off prompts.
In this session, Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and CMO of Orbit Media, will guide you through how to build two practical types of Custom GPTs:
- The “Maker” GPT – Produces brand-consistent, high-quality marketing content.
- The “Analyzer” GPT – Handles audits, reviews, and research with consistency and speed.
These are custom little tools that sit one step above prompts and one step below agents. If you have amazing reusable prompts, but you're still copying and pasting them manually, you're ready for this session.
Keep Up with Andy (and AI)
Want more insights from Andy? Follow him on LinkedIn and explore additional resources from Orbit Media Studios below.
- Follow Andy on LinkedIn.
- Learn more about Orbit’s website optimization services.
About Orbit Media Studios
Orbit Media Studios is a digital agency focused on web development and website optimization for midsize B2B brands. Orbit's award-winning team drives lead generation for companies across many industries including banking/finance, manufacturing, higher education and tech firms. Their team is 100% in-house and super nice people to work with.
Join Us at MAICON 2025
Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference (MAICON) was created for marketing leaders and practitioners seeking to drive the next frontier of digital marketing transformation within their organizations.
We’re excited to host our 5th annual MAICON—Marketing AI Conference—at this pivotal point for our industry. Join us from October 14 to 16, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio, and use the special code SPEAKERSERIES100 at checkout to receive $100 off your registration!
