Aviation Marketing AI Workshop

This workshop brought together the ABCI team, Michael Duke of DBT Aero, Debbie Murphy of JetBrokers, Ericka Essington of Air Nurses, and several other guests for a practical, no-nonsense look at how AI is actually being used in aviation marketing today. We examined where AI genuinely speeds up real work—and where it quietly derails it—using concrete examples from list-building, content development, image and video generation, and campaign planning.

The group compared experiences, challenged assumptions, and called out both the strengths and the limitations of the current tools. If you watch the recording, you’ll see how each participant extracted a few clear, actionable ideas they can apply immediately to improve results or save time

0:00 – 0:33 Kickoff, workbook intro, and why printed notes still matter.

0:33 – 1:01 Light banter before diving in; setting the tone.

1:01 – 1:42 Opening question: Which part of aviation marketing will AI transform first?

1:42 – 3:02 Poll results unpacked; skepticism about AI’s actual capabilities.

3:02 – 4:24 Historic attitudes toward AI—how much has changed in three years.

4:24 – 5:13 Examples of poorly generated AI content and why quality still varies.

5:13 – 6:02 Why customer experience will be the last frontier for AI in aviation.

6:02 – 7:31 Decision-making: a major capability AI still can’t match humans on.

7:31 – 8:36 Conservative AI behavior in the real world (Waymo example).

8:36 – 9:43 Using AI outside marketing—nutrition, research, everyday problem-solving.

9:43 – 10:22 Survey results on repetitive tasks people want automated.

10:22 – 12:04 AI’s limits with language, errors, and why human oversight matters.

12:04 – 13:19 Automating skills vs. overestimating AI—programming, spreadsheets, pitfalls.

13:19 – 14:49 Where AI breaks down without expert knowledge; when to stop and do it yourself.

14:49 – 15:24 How opinions toward AI in aviation have flipped over three years.

15:24 – 16:25 Growing mainstream acceptance (Coca-Cola AI holiday ad example).

16:25 – 17:11 Accuracy and fact-checking challenges—aviation details must be correct.

17:11 – 18:01 AI as a brainstorm partner, not a designer or final authority.

18:01 – 18:57 Workshop goal: everyone should leave with three actionable, time-saving ideas.

18:57 – 19:46 ChatGPT’s “birth date” analogy—smart, but not ready for command authority.

19:46 – 21:29 AI will make a bad product fail faster—why strategy comes first.

21:29 – 22:33 Power tools amplify mistakes; same with AI.

22:33 – 23:27 Marketing wheel intro: why aviation uses a wheel, not a funnel.

23:27 – 25:21 AI for prospecting—scrubbing lists, FAA data, ICP matching.

25:21 – 27:03 AI for approaching—customized emails and DMs using deep data inputs.

27:03 – 29:10 Iterative prompting; refining lists; managing expectations.

29:10 – 31:29 Lookalike audiences—how to upload CRM data and find similar prospects.

31:29 – 32:35 Why ChatGPT is preferred; warning about biased or unreliable models.

32:35 – 34:10 Holding pattern stage—where image generation enters the marketing wheel.

34:10 – 36:41 Angel’s deep dive into image generation tools, Gemini vs. ChatGPT.

36:41 – 38:28 Detailed prompting: lenses, lighting, angles, atmosphere for realism.

38:28 – 40:05 Accuracy issues, aviation intolerance for “fake aircraft,” and risk concerns.

40:05 – 41:33 Legal/IP issues and the need for documentation and good-faith defenses.

41:33 – 42:15 Stylistic consistency for brands—using tools to match campaign aesthetics.

42:15 – 43:57 Tool differences demonstrated—why some images look obviously AI.

43:57 – 46:20 Adeela’s process: generating video from still images using Canva AI.

46:20 – 47:22 Discussion: video realism, limitations, monthly generation caps.

47:22 – 49:06 Rapid evolution of AI voiceovers—quality now tolerable for many viewers.

49:06 – 50:34 Blending AI video with human-recorded voiceovers for realism.

50:34 – 51:22 Email marketing with AI—outlining, autoresponders, hybrid writing workflow.

51:22 – 53:06 Editing AI drafts: why humans must rewrite intros and verify facts.

53:06 – 54:33 Using AI to source statistics, stories, jokes—human curation still essential.

54:33 – 56:12 Infographic example and why different audiences require different terminology.

56:12 – 58:12 Using ChatGPT for networking prep—topics for mutual interests.

58:12 – 59:29 Why “prepared conversation topics” aren’t cheating—they reduce social friction.

59:29 – 1:01:10 End-to-end ABCI workflow: humans + AI + tools + peer review.

1:01:10 – 1:04:07 Group sharing of key takeaways (detailed prompt learning, networking ideas).

1:04:07 – 1:05:53 Ethics, accuracy, and maintaining brand alignment across AI tools.

1:05:53 – 1:07:04 Final discussion: AI is powerful, but blind confidence is dangerous.

1:07:04 – end Closing thanks; annual workshop tradition; reminder to use the workbook.