Will AI Replace Marketing Jobs in Winston Salem? Here’s What to Do in 2025

Winston‑Salem marketers are already feeling the double pull of risk and opportunity: AI is automating content, personalization, and analytics that used to be manual, while North Carolina analyses warn the transition could be disruptive - one state economist has even suggested AI could affect nearly 500,000 jobs across the state - so local teams should treat AI as a tool, not an inevitability.

Adoption varies (some reports show modest current use while others find faster uptake), but statewide planning data highlights marketing automation and data analytics as top AI priorities for North Carolina businesses - 41% report plans to use AI for marketing automation - so local marketers who learn to leverage these tools will stay competitive.

For practical upskilling, consider structured, workplace-focused training like Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work bootcamp to gain prompt-writing and job‑based AI skills and move from worry to actionable advantage in 2025.

Bootcamp	Length	Early bird cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	Register for Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp

the “lights came on,” as she termed it, meaning electricity had come to the farm.

Nationwide, marketers are riding a fast-moving wave: surveys show roughly three-quarters of companies are either using or exploring AI and over 80% place AI as a strategic priority, and that momentum is already reshaping day-to-day marketing work in measurable ways - from faster content drafting and hyper-personalized email subject lines to automated customer responses and deeper analytics that surface micro-audiences; for a useful roundup of the national numbers see the 131 AI statistics and trends for 2025 (NU.edu) at 131 AI Statistics and Trends for 2025.

Local effects for Winston‑Salem teams will mirror those national patterns - expect routine writing, research, and customer‑service tasks to be the first to change while strategic, creative, and in-person strengths stay valuable - an analysis of workplace AI conversations found the biggest applicability in sales, writing, and customer service roles, which directly maps to many Triad marketing shops (see the analysis “Which Marketing Jobs Are Most Affected by AI?” at Search Engine Journal) at Which Marketing Jobs Are Most Affected by AI?.

The practical takeaway for Winston‑Salem: use AI to multiply productivity (drafts, variants, and data pulls arrive in seconds) but keep human judgment for brand voice, strategy, and community events - after all, a tool that drafts ten subject lines still can't read the room at a local festival.

“The current capabilities of generative AI align most strongly with knowledge work and communication occupations.”

In Winston‑Salem, the marketing jobs most at risk aren't the strategists or community-facing staff but the repeatable, rules‑based tasks that automation and sales AI already handle: lead management, manual data entry, routine outreach and follow‑ups, scheduling, and basic reporting - precisely the areas Apollo.io highlights as prime targets for sales and outreach automation like lead scoring, synced CRM updates, and automated email sequences (Apollo.io sales automation guide for lead scoring and CRM updates).

Local agencies and small teams should also watch campaign execution work - template content, bulk personalization, and some reporting - because marketing automation platforms scale those activities rapidly, though they often stumble on data quality and alignment problems if not set up carefully (see Tenon marketing automation challenges breakdown).

Zoetalents' analysis adds perspective: roughly half of today's work activities can be automated, so expect the biggest displacement among time‑consuming, admin‑heavy tasks while creative, strategic, and relationship skills remain the safest bets for local marketers who pivot toward oversight, data hygiene, and personalized community engagement.

Sales automation isn't about replacing sellers; it's about giving them superpowers.

Winston‑Salem's marketing landscape is already birthing new hybrid roles where data fluency and AI know‑how meet traditional brand work: local research hubs are openly recruiting machine‑learning and data scientists (the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine careers page lists openings for AI/ML faculty and data scientist roles that collaborate across biology and engineering at the Innovation Quarter) and large employer job boards show demand for digital marketing, analytics and marketing‑insights functions that bridge strategy and data; see the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine careers page for details on AI/ML openings and the Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus - Top 10 AI tools every Winston‑Salem marketer should know.

Expect roles like applied data scientist for customer segmentation, marketing‑analytics specialist, and AI‑tool integration lead to grow - picture an analyst who can turn messy local CRM records into five reliable micro‑audiences before the afternoon coffee run, then hand those segments to a creative team to craft the human story behind the numbers.

Emerging Role	Example Local Source
Data Scientist / AI/ML Specialist	Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine careers page
Marketing Analytics / Insights	Job listings (e.g., Digital Marketing, Data Analytics roles)
AI‑Tool Integration Lead / AI Specialist for Marketing	Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus - Top 10 AI tools for marketers

Short-term wins for Winston‑Salem marketers are practical and immediate: learn prompt engineering, ChatGPT/Copilot workflows, and Excel AI so routine copy, reporting, and data pulls take minutes instead of hours - local options include hands‑on courses like the AGI AI classes that teach Copilot, ChatGPT, Excel AI and AI graphic design (AGI AI classes in Winston‑Salem: Copilot, ChatGPT, Excel AI) and free practical workshops such as the AI for Content Creation Lunch & Learn that covers tool recommendations and prompt tips for small businesses (AI for Content Creation & Use‑Case Tool Kits workshop).

Longer‑term skills to cultivate are data fluency - segmentation, analytics, and responsible AI use - paired with technical chops like HTML, JavaScript, and basic backend literacy so marketers can own integrations and measurement; Forsyth Tech's Web Technologies track maps directly to those competencies (Forsyth Tech IT – Web Technologies program).

The payoff is concrete: with short‑term prompts and long‑term data skills, a small team can turn a messy CRM into reliable micro‑audiences and a week's worth of localized posts before the afternoon coffee runs out, keeping campaigns local, fast, and human.

“AI for Content Creation” Lunch & Learn - free practical workshop covering tool recommendations and prompt tips: AI for Content Creation & Use‑Case Tool Kits workshop details

Timeframe	Key Skills	Local Training Options
Short‑Term	Prompt engineering, Copilot/ChatGPT workflows, Excel AI, AI‑assisted content	AGI AI classes; Winston‑Starts Lunch & Learn
Long‑Term	Marketing analytics, customer segmentation, web technologies (HTML, JS), responsible AI	Forsyth Tech IT – Web Technologies; professional courses

Pivoting in Winston‑Salem for 2025 means a short, practical checklist: start with a focused AI marketing audit to map tools, data flows, and immediate wins (Hot Source's AI Marketing Audit is a ready template for that), then build hands‑on tool fluency using localized guides and prompts - see the Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus for a practical guide to tools and prompts and the one‑week content calendar in the Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus; combine those short‑term wins with a plan to clean CRM data and own measurement so a small team can turn a messy contact list into reliable micro‑audiences before the afternoon coffee cools.

Finally, aim toward hybrid roles that blend automation and strategy - local openings such as KPMG's Senior Associate, Automation and AI Solutions (Winston‑Salem) show the career paths that reward analytic problem‑solving and systems design.

Action	Resource
Audit current AI & marketing stack	Hot Source - AI Marketing Audit
Learn practical tools & prompts	Nucamp - AI Essentials for Work syllabus (practical AI tools & prompts)
Target hybrid AI+marketing roles	KPMG - Senior Associate, Automation & AI Solutions (Winston‑Salem) job listing

Winston‑Salem businesses and agencies can turn AI from threat to competitive edge by productizing efficiency and deepening client services: local success at Forsyth Tech shows AI workflows and Bolt Agents trimmed call volume and saved staff more than 183,060 minutes while improving outreach and enrollment, a concrete proof that AI can scale routine work so teams focus on strategy and relationships (Forsyth Tech AI automation case study - Element451); local shops are already doing this - The Variable's acquisition of Data Crunch shows how pairing creative teams with analytics and generative tools creates new consulting revenue and sharper client insights (The Variable acquisition and analytics strategy - JournalNow profile).

For firms that lack in‑house talent, Winston‑Salem vendors offer turnkey services - CRM buildouts, email automation, AI chatbots and analytics - that let small teams deliver enterprise capabilities without hiring a full data shop (Prismate.AI Winston‑Salem CRM and AI integration services); the practical payoff is straightforward: automate the repetitive, charge for the strategic, and keep local relationships - those human strengths become the true differentiator.

Opportunity	Example/Impact	Source
AI-driven engagement & automation	183,060 minutes saved; higher answer rates and enrollment gains	Forsyth Tech AI automation case study - Element451
Agency + analytics services	Acquisition to add predictive analytics and generative AI capabilities	The Variable acquisition and analytics strategy - JournalNow profile
Local AI vendors & integrations	Turnkey CRM, chatbots, email automation, analytics for SMBs	Prismate.AI Winston‑Salem CRM and AI integration services

“The irony is that we believe AI will make human intelligence and gut instincts more important than ever.”

Local case studies show how Winston‑Salem is already turning design, data, and diagnostics into measurable wins: a Quality Mart remodel with ImageWorks' Client Collaboration Center in Winston‑Salem consolidated perimeter beverage clutter into a shopper‑friendly layout that “looks like a new store,” while Wake Forest's Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and nearby Novant teams are moving lab ideas into daily practice - Novant's AI cardiac strain analysis is used multiple times a day to spot subtle heart abnormalities and speed diagnostics (ImageWorks C‑Store case study and press release, WXII report on Novant Health cardiac AI strain analysis).

Outside hospitals, technology partnerships show hard ROI: CHESS Health Solutions' work with Innovaccer standardized transitional care and cut 30‑day readmissions by 23%, generating over $3 million in value - concrete examples that local marketers and agencies can point to when pitching automation, analytics, or integration work to clients.

Case Study	Result	Source
Quality Mart - ImageWorks collaboration	Consolidated beverage displays; elevated, repeatable store design	ImageWorks C‑Store case study press release
Novant Health - Cardiac AI	Daily use of AI strain analysis to detect subtle heart function issues	WXII-TV report on Novant cardiac AI
CHESS Health Solutions + Innovaccer	23% fewer 30‑day readmissions; $3M+ value generated	Innovaccer case study: CHESS Health Solutions

“The AI is able to track the specific components of the heart, and it's able to detect how well it's moving, how well it's pumping… And if there is any abnormalities or any inconsistencies, the AI is able to detect that better than the human eye.”

Education, policy, and community action are already knitting a safety net for Winston‑Salem marketers who need new AI skills: local universities and research hubs invite cross‑sector collaboration - from Winston‑Salem State University's Community Engagement & Partnerships that bring academia, government, industry and non‑profits together to align training with real employer needs to Wake Forest's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which runs Industry Pathways and community education programs that connect students, startups and established firms for internships and translational projects (WSSU Community Engagement & Partnerships program, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine partnerships and collaborations).

Hands‑on initiatives show the payoff: a nearly $800,000 WSSU–UNCSA project built a Center for Design Innovation VR lab (models created with Unreal Engine) so nursing students can train in simulated clinical rooms before entering live care settings - a vivid example of how local education can shrink the skills gap while preserving human judgment and community ties (WSSU–UNCSA VR clinical training collaboration).

For marketers, the practical path is clear: partner with these institutions for tailored internships, sponsor curriculum input, and back local bootcamps so AI training maps directly to Winston‑Salem employer needs.

Initiative	What it Offers	Source
WSSU Community Engagement	Multi‑stakeholder partnerships and workforce alignment	WSSU Community Engagement & Partnerships program details
WFIRM Industry Pathways	Industry collaboration, internships, commercialization support	Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine partnerships overview
WSSU–UNCSA VR Lab	VR clinical training for nursing; ~$800K funding; Unreal Engine modeling	UNCSA news: WSSU–UNCSA VR training collaboration

“I am so very proud of our health sciences faculty and staff for leading the way in virtual reality.”

The practical, hopeful outlook for Winston‑Salem's marketing workforce is straightforward: pair local leadership and real results with focused, hands‑on skill building so AI becomes an amplifier, not an eliminator - Wake Forest's new ai.wfu.edu hub and community‑guided guidelines offer a values‑driven roadmap for ethical, practical use across campus and partners, while Forsyth Tech's Element451 rollout proves the payoff in minutes saved and enrollment gains (over 183,060 staff minutes saved and sustained enrollment increases), showing automation can free people for higher‑value work; for marketers, a clear next step is short, applied training that teaches promptcraft, tool workflows and measurement - Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work lays out those job‑based skills and prompts to move from experimentation to dependable delivery in 2025, letting local teams keep the human judgment that still wins at festivals, client meetings, and creative strategy.

Bootcamp	Length	Early bird cost	Learn/Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	AI Essentials for Work syllabus (Nucamp) | Register for AI Essentials for Work at Nucamp

“This is not just about adopting new tools; it is about shaping a future that reflects who we are as a community.”