Marketing With Generative AI: Harvard Business School’s Ayelet Israeli

Marketing With Generative AI: Harvard Business School’s Ayelet Israeli

Author: MIT Sloan Management Review November 7, 2023 Duration: 34:33
As an associate professor at Harvard Business School and cofounder of the Customer Intelligence Lab at the school’s Digital Data Design Institute, Ayelet Israeli’s work is focused on how data and technology can inform marketing strategy, as well as how generative AI can be a useful tool in eliminating algorithmic bias. One of the products of her recent work is a paper she coauthored with two Microsoft economists and researchers on how generative AI could be used to simulate focus groups and surveys to determine customer preferences. Ayelet joins Sam and Shervin to discuss the opportunities and limitations of generative AI in market research. She details how the research was conducted and how artificial intelligence technology could help marketers reduce the time, cost, and complexity associated with traditional customer research methods. Read the episode transcript here. Guest bio: Ayelet Israeli is the Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration in Harvard Business School’s Marketing Unit. She is also the cofounder of the school’s Customer Intelligence Lab at the Digital Data Design Institute. Her research focuses on data-driven marketing, with an emphasis on how businesses can leverage their internal data, customer data, and market data to improve outcomes. Her research interests include retail, pricing strategy, channel management, marketing analytics, and algorithmic bias. Israeli has a Ph.D. in marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Me, Myself, and AI is a collaborative podcast from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group and is hosted by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. Our engineer is David Lishansky, and the coordinating producers are Allison Ryder and Sophie Rüdinger. Stay in touch with us by joining our LinkedIn group, AI for Leaders at mitsmr.com/AIforLeaders or by following Me, Myself, and AI on LinkedIn. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials.

Ever wondered how some organizations manage to turn artificial intelligence from a buzzword into a genuine engine for growth, while others struggle to move beyond the pilot phase? Me, Myself, and AI, a production from MIT Sloan Management Review, goes straight to the source to find out. Instead of theoretical discussions, this podcast features candid conversations with the people who are actually building and implementing AI systems at scale. You'll hear directly from leaders at prominent companies like YouTube, Cisco, and Hugging Face as they recount their journeys-not just the polished successes, but the real-world challenges, strategic decisions, and sometimes surprising lessons learned along the way. Each episode digs into the practicalities of creating measurable business value, cutting through the noise to reveal what effective AI leadership and integration truly look like. It’s a focused exploration for anyone in technology, business, or education who wants to understand the human and operational stories behind the algorithms. Tune in for an unvarnished look at the future being built, one practical application at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Me, Myself, and AI
Podcast Episodes
Never Too Much AI: Upwork's Andrew Rabinovich [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:37
Andrew Rabinovich began his career in technology working on AI applications for cancer detection. He also spent time at Google, working on early iterations of products like Google Glass. Now at Upwork, as vice president…
Ethically Sourced Creativity: Shutterstock's Alessandra Sala [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:50
Alessandra Sala, senior director of data science and AI at Shutterstock, brings an impressive background in responsible AI to her role. Also the global president of Women in AI and cochair of the Women4Ethical AI platfor…
Meet Your New Teammate, AI: Asana’s Saket Srivastava [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:17
Saket Srivastava, CIO at work management platform Asana, has had technology roles at organizations such as General Electric, IBM, and Fujitsu, moving from back-end IT services positions to more strategic business leaders…
Building Connections Through Open Research: Meta’s Joelle Pineau [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:35
Joelle Pineau’s curiosity led her to pursue a doctorate in engineering with a focus on robotics, which she describes as her “gateway into AI.” As vice president of AI research at Meta, Joelle leads a team committed to op…
Authoring Creativity With AI: Researcher Patrick Hebron [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:52
If you’ve played with Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature or worked in Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, you’ve touched tools that Patrick Hebron’s work has made possible. A dual major in philosophy and film production, Patri…
If 10% of the World Were Developers: GitHub’s Mario Rodriguez [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
When Mario Rodriguez emigrated from Cuba to the United States at age 14 with his parents — a university professor, and a teacher turned electrical engineer — they had already instilled in him the value of education and a…
AI Hype and Skepticism: Economist Paul Romer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:19
Paul Romer once considered himself the most optimistic economist. He rightfully predicted that technology would blow up as an economic driver coming out of the inflation of the 1970s but acknowledges he did not foresee t…
Lights, AI, Action: Wonder Dynamics's Tye Sheridan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:43
Actor Tye Sheridan may not consider himself a technology expert, but his knowledge of visual effects (VFX) processes led him to cofound AI-driven startup Wonder Dynamics. With the company’s new product, Wonder Studio, cr…
Fashioning the Perfect Fit With AI: Stitch Fix’s Jeff Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:17
Jeff Cooper parlayed his interest in neuroscience and human behavior into a career in data science and today works as a senior data science director for online retail subscription service Stitch Fix. Jeff joins Me, Mysel…