Written by AI marketing experts

The AI marketing library

28 terms behind AI marketing, ad creative and B2B demand, each with a plain definition and a practical example. The team that plans, produces and runs these campaigns keeps it up to date.

Last updated 13 November 2026

AI foundations

The technology behind modern marketing, explained in plain words.

AI marketing

AI marketing is the use of machine learning and generative AI to research, produce, target and measure marketing, while people set the strategy and approve the output.

AI takes on the volume work: summarising research, drafting variations, resizing assets and pulling reports together. People keep the positioning, the offer and the final say on every claim. The tools change every few months, but that division of work does not.

In practice: We use AI to summarise research, draft scripts and produce ad variations to test, and a person reviews every ad before it runs. See the packages

Generative AI

Generative AI is AI that creates new material, such as text, images, voice and video, from a written instruction.

It is fast at first drafts and variations, and weak at judgement. Anything that goes out under your company's name still needs a person to check the facts, the tone and every claim.

In practice: One approved script can become several voiceover takes and alternative opening lines to test, instead of a single version.

Large language model (LLM)

A large language model is the kind of AI model behind assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude, trained on large amounts of text to read and write language.

LLMs power most marketing AI tools: copywriting, summarising calls, classifying leads and answering customer questions. They predict likely text, so they can sound confident and still be wrong, which is why their output needs review.

In practice: Before an ad is written, an LLM can turn sales call notes and customer reviews into a short list of the problems buyers mention most.

AI agent

An AI agent is an AI system that completes a task in several steps on its own, using tools such as email, a CRM or a calendar.

A chatbot answers questions; an agent acts. It can qualify a lead, book a meeting or update a record. Because agents make changes in real systems, they need clear limits, logs and a person who checks their work.

In practice: An AI voice agent can answer every inbound call, ask the qualifying questions and book a demo straight into the sales calendar. AI voice agents

Generative engine optimization (GEO)

Generative engine optimization is the work of making a company's pages easy for AI assistants and AI search, such as ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, to find, understand and cite.

AI answers quote short, clear passages from pages they trust. GEO means writing those passages, adding structured data and making sure AI crawlers can read the site. It sits alongside classic SEO rather than replacing it.

In practice: This library is written that way: every entry opens with a one-sentence definition that an AI answer can quote. SEO and GEO

Creative that sells

How a product becomes ads that the right people stop for.

Explainer video

An explainer video is a short film, often animated, that shows what a product does and why it matters, usually in under two minutes.

A good explainer names one problem, shows the product solving it and ends with one next step. Animation suits software well because it can show the screens clearly and change them later without a reshoot.

In practice: We build explainer films from your real product screens, so what buyers see in the ad matches what they get after they sign. Animated ads

Animated ad

An animated ad is a short video ad built with motion graphics and illustration instead of filmed footage.

Animated ads are quick to change, which matters when you test many versions. A new headline, offer or language is an edit rather than a new shoot, and the brand looks the same in every version.

In practice: When one opening line wins a test, we produce new variations of it without booking a studio, actors or a film crew. See the packages

Ad cutdowns

Cutdowns are shorter edits of a longer ad film, made for specific placements such as Stories, Reels and in-feed video.

Each placement rewards a different length and frame: vertical for Stories and Reels, square or landscape for feeds. Cutdowns let one strong film cover every placement without losing its message.

In practice: Our Start package turns one film into three cutdowns and six static ads in every size the platforms need. See the packages

Hook

The hook is the first seconds of an ad, or the first line of a post, that decide whether someone keeps watching or reading.

People decide almost at once whether an ad is for them. A strong hook names the viewer's problem or the outcome they want in plain words, before any logo or introduction.

In practice: We test several openings on the same film, because the opening is the cheapest part of an ad to change.

Hook rate

Hook rate is the share of people who keep watching a video ad past its first seconds, usually three-second views divided by impressions.

It shows whether the opening works, separately from whether the offer works. A low hook rate means people scroll past; a healthy hook rate with few clicks points to the middle of the ad or the offer.

In practice: When an ad underperforms, we read the hook rate first, so a weak opening is not mistaken for a weak product.

Static ads

Static ads are single-image ads, usually with a headline and a short line of copy.

They are quick to make and quick to test, and on some placements they perform as well as video. They also carry the film's message into places where video does not play.

In practice: Our Grow package adds eight new static ads a month alongside four new ad films. See the packages

Creative testing

Creative testing means running several versions of an ad at the same time to learn which message, opening or format brings the best results.

Good tests change one thing at a time and judge the winner by a business number, such as cost per demo, not by clicks alone. Without enough budget behind each version, the results are noise.

In practice: In our Grow package, we pause the weakest ads every week and brief new versions of the strongest.

Creative fatigue

Creative fatigue is the drop in ad results that happens when the same audience has seen the same ad too often.

The usual signs are a rising cost per result and a falling click rate while the targeting stays the same. The fix is fresh creative, not a bigger budget.

In practice: In our Grow package, new films and static ads arrive every month, so fresh creative is ready to rotate in when results start to drop. See the packages

Who you sell to

Deciding which companies and people the marketing is for.

Ideal customer profile (ICP)

An ideal customer profile describes the type of company that gets the most value from your product and is most likely to buy.

An ICP is written in facts you can target: industry, size, region, the tools they use and the problem they have. It keeps ads, lists and sales calls focused on accounts that can actually buy.

In practice: At kickoff we agree your ICP in writing, and campaigns and target lists are built from it.

Buying committee

The buying committee is the group of people inside a company who influence or approve a B2B purchase.

A finance tool may need the finance lead, IT and a director to agree. Each of them cares about something different, so a single message rarely convinces all of them.

In practice: We can build different openings of the same film for different roles, such as the daily user and the budget holder.

Positioning

Positioning is the clear statement of who a product is for, what it replaces and why it is the better choice.

Positioning comes before any ad. If a company cannot say in one sentence why a buyer should choose it, producing more creative will not fix the problem.

In practice: Our Start package begins with a 60-minute strategy session, so the positioning is settled before the script is written. See the packages

Target account list

A target account list is a researched list of the specific companies, and the people in them, that sales and marketing will focus on.

It turns the ICP into names. Ads, outreach and email can then aim at the same accounts, so buyers meet the company in more than one place before they talk to sales.

In practice: Our Grow package includes a researched list of target accounts and contacts on LinkedIn. See the packages

Reaching buyers

Getting the right message in front of the right accounts, more than once.

Retargeting

Retargeting shows ads to people who already visited your site or engaged with your content, to bring them back when they are ready.

Most B2B buyers do not book on their first visit. Retargeting keeps the company in front of them with a different message, such as a short demo or a customer story, while they decide.

In practice: We use cutdowns of the main film for retargeting, so returning visitors see a new angle rather than the same ad again.

Lookalike audience

A lookalike audience is a group the ad platform builds from people who resemble a list you give it, such as your customers or best leads.

Its quality depends on the source list. A list of real customers usually works better than a list of every website visitor, and the list must respect privacy rules and consent.

In practice: Where consent allows, we build lookalikes from qualified leads rather than from every form submission.

Intent signals

Intent signals are actions that suggest a company may be ready to buy, such as visiting the pricing page, hiring for a related role or comparing suppliers.

Signals help decide who to contact first and what to say. They are hints rather than proof, so they work best combined with a clear ICP.

In practice: A visit to the pricing page can move an account into a retargeting audience with a direct offer to book a demo.

Landing page

A landing page is the page an ad sends people to, built around one offer and one action.

It should repeat the ad's promise in its first line and remove everything that does not help the visitor take the next step. A mismatch between the ad and the page wastes every paid click.

In practice: If an ad promises a short product demo, the page it opens should start with that demo, not with a general homepage. Web development

Email nurture flow

An email nurture flow is a series of emails sent automatically to new leads over days or weeks, to answer their questions and move them towards a call.

Most leads are not ready on the first day. A nurture flow keeps the conversation going with useful content and one clear next step in each email, and stops as soon as the person books or unsubscribes.

In practice: Our Grow package includes email nurture flows that follow up every lead. See the packages

Measuring what matters

The numbers that show whether marketing is creating sales conversations.

Cost per lead

Cost per lead is marketing spend for a period divided by the number of leads in the same period.

It is easy to lower cost per lead by attracting people who will never buy. That is why it should always be read next to lead quality and cost per demo.

In practice: Our weekly report leads with cost per demo rather than cost per lead, because what matters is what happens after the form is filled in.

Cost per demo

Cost per demo is total marketing spend for a period divided by the number of qualified demos booked in that period.

It connects marketing spend to the first real sales step, so it rewards ads that bring buyers rather than clicks. For B2B companies with a sales team, it is one of the clearest measures of marketing.

In practice: The weekly one-page report in our Grow package shows spend, cost per demo, demos booked and the next test. See the packages

Show rate

Show rate is the share of booked demos where the prospect actually attends.

Booked demos that never happen make results look better than they are. A quick confirmation, a calendar invite and a reminder before the call are simple ways to raise it.

In practice: The lead automation in our Grow package sends the instant reply, the reminders and a follow-up when someone misses the call. AI automation

Speed to lead

Speed to lead is the time between a prospect asking to be contacted and the first real reply from your company.

Interest fades quickly after someone fills in a form. Replying within minutes, even with an automated first message and a booking link, keeps the lead warm until a person calls.

In practice: In our Grow package, the lead automation sends every new lead an instant reply and syncs the lead to your CRM, so your team can call while interest is high. AI automation

Lead scoring

Lead scoring ranks new leads by how likely they are to buy, so sales calls the best ones first.

Simple scoring uses rules, such as company size or job title. AI scoring learns from past deals which patterns tend to close. Either way, the score is a guide for the sales team, not a decision.

In practice: A lead that matches the ICP and visited the pricing page goes to the top of the sales team's list for the day.

Attribution

Attribution is the method of deciding which ads, channels and touchpoints get credit for a lead or a sale.

B2B buyers see several ads and visit several times before they book, so no model is perfect. What matters is choosing one method and using it consistently to compare channels.

In practice: In our Grow package, tracking is set up before the first ad runs, and a monthly pipeline report from your CRM shows which ads became deals.

See it running in your business

We turn your product into animated ad films and run them as campaigns built to book qualified demos, with a weekly report on what each demo costs.

See the packages Book a free call