KINGSTON, R.I. – February 27, 2025 – The Journal of Marketing Education, a prominent international publication focused on advancing marketing scholarship, has selected University of Rhode Island Associate Professor Stephen Atlas to receive its 2024 Outstanding Article of the Year Award. Atlas’s award-winning paper, “Generative AI and Marketing Education: What the Future Holds,” co-authored with Abhijit Guha of the University of South Carolina and Dhruv Grewal, examines the transformative impact of generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, on marketing education and the broader field.
“This recognition underscores the rapid transformation of marketing due to AI,” stated Atlas. “Generative AI is already reshaping how businesses engage with customers, create content, and conduct research. The challenge now is to equip students to succeed in this evolving environment.”
In their paper, Atlas and his co-authors posit that generative AI can improve marketing education by preparing students for future marketing roles. These roles will apply artificial intelligence to reshape tasks such as content creation, customer service, and research. Their research investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practical use of generative AI by marketing students and educators. The authors propose that tools like ChatGPT can enhance the student learning experience.
As part of their research, the team surveyed undergraduates about their ChatGPT usage and whether they believed it aligned with university policy. Surprisingly, approximately 55% of the students surveyed reported never using the tool, even though those who did used it extensively. The team also surveyed marketing professors to assess their knowledge of ChatGPT and their perspective on its potential use in classrooms. Similar to the students, many educators were unfamiliar with the tool, but most expressed a positive view of ChatGPT, and many respondents stated that it should not be banned. One respondent noted that resisting technological progress seems futile, adding, “Thus, it seems important for us to identify legitimate uses for AI technology, teach students how to use it effectively, and help students critique AI output (and become more critical consumers of information, in general).”
The article suggests that ChatGPT should be seen as a tool, not a replacement for human input. Educators should encourage, reinforce, and highlight the concept that generative AI is not a universally applicable solution. Furthermore, students should be made aware of the significant challenges that accompany its use, including ethical concerns, potential biases, and the risk of plagiarism.
“There are all the learning objectives that existed before, and there’s also now new learning objectives around responsible generative AI use. And that’s the crux of the issue as some of these fields are looking into the future,” said Atlas.
The paper concludes by examining the potential benefits of integrating generative AI in the classroom while mitigating potential downsides. Atlas suggests that professors can model the use of generative AI to mirror how marketing professionals use it. This could include training students on industry-specific software such as Python, Tableau, and Qualtrics. Generative AI can also provide resources to students, such as virtual flashcards, to aid in studying and mastering new concepts.
“At the end of the day, human authors are still responsible for what they write, they just don’t have to hold the pen quite so much,” Atlas said.
