Cheat Sheet for B2B Content in the AI Era: Insights from content execs at Microsoft, Salesforce, Gong, Clari and Tofu

Imagine this: you're sitting down with the unicorns of B2B content creators.

You have Heike, previous Head of Content at Microsoft & Salesforce… (two of the biggest tech companies)

… then Devin, who was previous Head of Content at Gong and Clari (two of the biggest SaaS companies)

…….AND THEN the cherry on top, you have Elaine, Co-Founder and CRO of Tofu, with her LinkedIn being the company's top pipeline generating engine (one of the fastest growing martech companies)

Moderated by me, Livia Han, Head of Marketing at Tofu!

What would YOU ask them?

Let's start with two truths and a lie:

  • They are all parents of 2 small humans
  • They all create incredibly personable content that stands out in an extremely crowded market
  • They use AI for everything they create and it has basically replaced them as marketers

If you guessed #3, you are correct ;)

And we're going to dive deep into what they ACTUALLY use AI for, and what they don't, to have built some of the most sought after brands in the business.

The Big Shift: From Personalization to Contextualization (how AI is truly changing B2B content and why ABM is so hot)

Let's forget basic personalization tactics. According to Elaine, personalization is so last decade, it's no longer about simply using someone's first name in an email. The future belongs to contextual, relevant content that speaks directly to specific pain points, industries, personas, and behavior..

What does this means exactly? Here are some examples:

  • That industry report you spent $xxxxxx on? Turn that instantly into vertical-specific assets for your audience, so it actually lands with them. Then when they download, follow up with extremely relevant emails containing persona-specific content.
  • Your landing page that you spent $xxxxxx redesigning? Immediately turn that into tailored custom landing pages for a specific person at a specific company

Stop. Before You Scale Anything, Read This.

Ok so this actually had me saying "preach." Devin says that a lot of the time, people come to him wanting to scale their content. But he tells them: "Scaling your brand's content creation is pointless if the thing you're scaling isn't good in the first place."

Before rushing to amplify your content, invest time in developing memorable, unique POVs and ideas/content that is ACTUALLY worth scaling. Find your signature dish. (most companies are not doing that)

So ask yourself: What do you have that is SO important and SO good that it's worth scaling? (journal on that tonight)

AI is not going to come up with that unique point of view or next best idea, but when you do, it's going to be your superfriend that helps you scale that across blog posts, landing pages, social posts, and all the other fun assets we get to create as marketers ;).

Here's Where AI Actually Shines (And Where It Doesn't)

The panel got real about where they're ACTUALLY using AI in their day-to-day workflow. Spoiler: it's not replacing them, but it is saving them a ton of time on specific tasks.

AI Use Case #1: Crunching Data When Your Data Team Is "Too Busy"

Heike shared that as marketers, we rarely get sufficient support. hat's where we can rely on our handy AI tools to help dump a BUNCH of data into and analyze massive data sets to identify trends.

Her key advice? Don't use the results as absolute truths and trust the numbers down to the decimal point, but see it more as a way to view overarching trends to help inform decisions. (For example, we can connect our enterprise version of ChatGPT to Hubspot to analyze trends from last quarter, close/lost reasons, campaign performance, etc.)

AI Use Case #2: Keeping Legal & Comms Happy

One of the best things you can use AI for at a large company? Communications. The panel noted that AI excels at maintaining consistent tone of voice and adding necessary guardrails that legal, PR, and communications teams require.

Let it do the work you don't wanna do!

AI Use Case #3: Deep Account Research (This One's a Game-Changer)

Here's an example of a prompt one of our customers used this month.

(spongebob meme: so you think you can prompt)

Sample prompt to maximize account research:

You are an expert analyst. Research the target using SEC filings, investor decks, press releases, product docs, job posts, marketing blogs, podcasts, and reputable news.

Write in plain English. Do NOT add hype or speculation. Organize your answer under the exact headings below. Include the source title + publication date in brackets after every fact. Do a detailed search with the company name and URL to provide context for the searches.

Core Snapshot One-sentence description of what the company sells and how it earns revenue.

Money & Momentum FY-2024 (or most recent) revenue, YoY growth, and main segments. Profitability status (positive/negative EBIT). Cash on hand vs. cap-ex trend.

Strategic Priorities Three bullets pulled from the latest earnings call or annual letter that hint at [the pain point your company solves—eg AI or technology spend, digital transformation, or cost-control goals.]

Pain Signals & Gaps [Insert category and specific example relevant to your company. Eg for Tofu: Where desire to use AI by marketing leadership is mentioned ("Using AI to scale ABM efforts").]

Key People & Budget Influence Names/titles of [Your buyer titles—Eg CMO/CRO, VP Marketing]. Buying-cycle insight (fiscal year-end, recent RFPs, typical deal size if disclosed).

Sales Talk-Tracks (max 50 words each) [Talk tracks, messaging, or plays your sales team uses. Eg: Scale ABM efforts, Focus on relevance not shallow personalization, Integrated AI marketing software that works nicely with your existing platforms, Accelerate campaign creation.]

Delivery Requirements Bullet or short-paragraph style. 100% citations in brackets. No adjectives like "world-class," "game-changing," etc. End with three open-ended discovery questions we can ask the prospect.

^I know, that's a pretty baller prompt. My jaw literally dropped to the floor when I saw this.

Favourite AI Prompts from our Panelists:

To avoid “sea of sameness” Heike asks ChatGPT for five topic ideas and then deliberately avoids those directions, knowing they represent the "sea of sameness" everyone else might pursue.

The Bottom Line

These content leaders aren't using AI to replace their creativity or strategic thinking. They're using it to:

  • Handle the grunt work (data analysis, tone consistency, research)
  • Scale what's already working (but only after they've nailed the message)
  • Avoid what everyone else is doing (by seeing what AI suggests and going the opposite direction)

The human touch? That's still where the magic happens. Your unique POV, your strategic decisions, your understanding of what makes content truly worth scaling, AI can't do that for you.

But when you've got something worth saying? AI can help you say it louder and to the right people.

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