AI in Digital Marketing: Fundamentals and Applications
BUSA-41044
In this course, students will explore how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the marketing landscape. Aspiring marketers, strategists, and content creators, will be introduced to foundational AI, Machine Learning, and Generative AI concepts and will gain practical experience using industry-leading tools to build automated workflows, develop audience insights, and generate optimized content.
Emphasis will be placed on prompt engineering, ethical AI practices, and emerging trends shaping the future of marketing.
What you'll learn
- Understand the fundamental concepts of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Generative AI in the context of marketing.
- Identify and evaluate key AI applications across the marketing lifecycle, from research and content creation to customer experience and performance optimization.
- Develop data-driven marketing strategies leveraging AI-powered analytics and predictive models.
- Apply prompt engineering techniques for effective content generation and marketing automation.
- Critically assess the ethical implications and challenges of AI in marketing, including data privacy, bias, and transparency.
- Implement practical AI tools and platforms to enhance marketing efficiency and effectiveness.
- Anticipate and adapt to emerging trends in AI marketing.
Course Information
Course sessions
Section ID:
Class type:
This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.
Textbooks:
No textbook required.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 2/10/2026
Schedule:
Instructor:
Ron Weber
Ron is a digital marketing expert with 20+ years of experience driving measurable results through content marketing, SEO, and paid search. He is currently the Senior Director of Web Communications + SEO at Actian, where he leads the company's global acquisition, content creation, and SEO efforts. Prior to Actian, he held leadership roles at Teradata and Intuit, and has been a major proponent of content marketing wherever he has gone. He has also been a major SEO content creator, having written hundreds of money management tips for Quicken.com and Mint.com.
Ron has spent the majority of his career in the technology space, has been a digital marketer since the Internet started, and has been teaching content marketing at UCSD Extended Studies for over 5 years.
Specialties: search engine marketing, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, mobile marketing, app store optimization, display marketing, content development, content marketing, social media marketing, paid social, public relations, marketing research, business strategy, marketing strategy, site usability, media buying, a/b testing, email marketing, reporting/analysis, trend spotting, reputation management, domaining, and blogging.
Ron is a certified in Google Search, Google Display, Google Mobile, Google Video, Google Analytics and BrightEdge.