AI is changing what it means to be a marketer.
Marketers are not simply being asked to use new tools. They are being asked to rethink how work gets done, determine where AI can create meaningful value, guide smarter decisions, and help their teams and organizations adapt.
And in many organizations, leadership is looking to marketing to help shape what comes next.
That requires more than familiarity with the latest platforms or the ability to write a good prompt.
It requires a practical understanding of what AI can do, where it fits, how to apply it responsibly, and how to evaluate its impact.
This September, we want to help more marketers build that foundation.
September Is Marketing AI Month
Throughout September 2026, Marketing AI Month, SmarterX is giving marketers free access to the complete AI for Marketing Course Series in AI Academy, our online learning platform, valued at $499.
The five-course, self-paced series delivers 3 1/2 hours of focused learning designed to move marketers from understanding AI to applying it. Participants will identify and prioritize use cases, evaluate tools against their needs, and create a 30-day action plan for putting AI to work.
Your free access includes:
- Five expert-led, on-demand courses
- 3.5 hours of focused learning
- Practical use case, tool-evaluation, and action-planning frameworks
- An AI for Marketing Professional Certificate upon completion
- An invitation to our live Marketing AI Month Ask Me Anything Q&A on Oct. 1
Marketers can claim the course series free through September 30.
ENROLL IN THE AI FOR MARKETING COURSE SERIES FREE
What the Course Series Covers
The series takes marketers through five connected courses:
- Your AI Opportunity: Understand AI’s transformative potential in marketing.
- The State of AI for Marketing: Explore adoption, barriers, workforce disruption, and where the industry is heading.
- The AI-Forward Marketer: Identify, analyze, and prioritize AI use cases across your work.
- Marketing AI Tools and Use Cases: Evaluate existing technology, frontier models, and specialized tools against your needs.
- Generative AI 101: Build practical skills in prompting, custom AI assistants, multimodal tools, and deep research.
Why AI Literacy Matters for Marketers
AI capabilities are advancing quickly, but simply gaining access to AI tools does not automatically lead to better marketing.
The greater opportunity is to understand where AI can improve the work, where human judgment matters most, and how to make thoughtful decisions about adoption. That might mean identifying a high-value use case, redesigning a workflow, evaluating a new tool, improving how a team creates content, or helping leadership understand what is (and is not) realistic.
These decisions increasingly extend beyond individual productivity. Marketing leaders may be asked to establish standards, guide experimentation, support responsible use, evaluate investments, and help their organizations move from scattered activity to a more intentional approach.
Practical AI literacy gives marketers the foundation to participate in those conversations with greater confidence.
Learn at Your Own Pace, Then Bring Your Questions
The AI for Marketing Course Series is self-paced, so participants can move through the five courses on their own schedule throughout the month.
Then, we will bring Marketing AI Month to a close with a live Ask Me Anything session on Oct. 1 at 12pm ET.
Course learners will have the opportunity to ask questions, hear additional insights from the SmarterX team, including founder and CEO Paul Roetzer, Chief Content Officer Mike Kaput, and Chief Marketing Officer Cathy McPhillips, and connect what they have learned to the challenges and opportunities they are navigating in their own work.
The goal is not simply to consume more information. It is to help marketers develop the knowledge and confidence to make better decisions about AI and begin applying what they learned.
From AI Knowledge to Organizational Action
For some marketers, the course series will be a starting point. For others, it will clarify where they want to go deeper.
Marketing AI Month is designed to help marketers understand and apply AI. Our annual Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), Oct. 13–15 in Cleveland, will help marketing and AI leaders explore the strategies, systems, and connections needed to put AI into practice across their organizations.
Help Us Expand Access to AI Literacy
Marketing AI Month is part of The AI Literacy Project, a SmarterX initiative working to make high-quality, practical AI education more accessible.
We believe more people should have the opportunity to understand AI, use it responsibly, and make informed decisions about its impact on their work and organizations.
That is why our AI for Marketing course is free during Marketing AI Month and meant to be shared. If you know a marketer, colleague, team member, client, or friend who could benefit, let them know about it.
Cathy McPhillips
Cathy McPhillips is the Chief Marketing Officer at SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute