• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
CommentaryAI

Google CMO: There is a perception that AI is going to threaten the very nature of creativity. Here’s why I disagree

By
Lorraine Twohill
Lorraine Twohill
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Lorraine Twohill
Lorraine Twohill
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 12, 2024, 11:11 AM ET
Lorraine Twohill is Chief Marketing Officer at Google.
Lorraine Twohill is Chief Marketing Officer at Google.Courtesy of Google
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Lorraine Twohill is Chief Marketing Officer at Google.

During a recent lunch conversation, a female business founder and friend turned to me and asked “Lorraine, am I being left behind?”. This sentiment captures how a lot of people are feeling about artificial intelligence right now.

There is a lot of excitement, for sure. Artificial intelligence will help solve problems, big and small, from diagnosing cancer to fighting climate change, or just by helping us be more productive.

Mixed with this excitement, there is also fear. Fear of not understanding the technology. Fear of making a mistake. And, like this entrepreneur, fear of missing out.

If you empathize, you’re not alone. In a recent survey, only 32% of business leaders said that their company has broadly adopted AI. We are all still figuring out how to bring the benefits of AI to our teams—and what success even looks like.

If I’ve learned anything in my 20 years at Google and 30 years in the advertising industry, it’s that we shape technology by using it. And this process isn’t linear.

With AI, we are all still testing and learning how to translate this technology into value. So now is the time when everyone can experiment and start playing around. AI tools are already available—and there’s no need for advanced training or coding knowledge to take part.

But not enough of us are doing this right now.

It starts at the top. As leaders, we’ve got to get hands-on and use AI tools at work—and in life. We need to play around with as many different use cases and solutions as possible.

AI tools can now find that one email from my kids’ school with all the important dates, summarize entire work email threads, give me feedback on how our creative work will be received, or gift me with a genius line of poetry.

We also need to give our teams permission to innovate. Ideas come from everywhere and often from where you least expect it. Encourage your teams—whether they’re in operations, marketing, sales, or engineering—to try various AI tools.

At Google, we strive to cultivate a culture of curiosity, where people try, fail, and try again—regularly sharing what works and what doesn’t. Our dogfooding program is one way we encourage everyone to use early product features. In a hackathon we recently hosted, people pulled teams together from across the company and imagined entirely new ways to use AI.

There is no wrong way to experiment. Identifying a specific pain point is one way companies get started—whether it’s an e-commerce retailer using generative AI to write product descriptions at scale or a graphic design platform that makes video creation faster with AI.

To help inspire others, we recently published a list of how over 100 businesses use AI. We also just launched a course to help everyone from small businesses to nonprofits and governments use AI.

Like many of us heading to the Cannes Lions, I have a particular interest in how AI will transform marketing. There is a perception among some that AI is going to threaten the very nature of creativity. I disagree.

Creatives have long embraced major technological transformations. They use them as opportunities to try new things, often long before others, and, ultimately, ignite all our imaginations. When creativity and technology intersect, we can do extraordinary things.

I’m lucky enough to work alongside some of the very best creatives in the world. Even they will tell you that a blank sheet of paper can be terrifying. So put the horror of the first terrible draft on an AI. Spare yourself. Then be brilliant.

AI can also save marketers countless hours. At Google, we use AI to generate several versions of an ad in the time it would have taken to create just one in the past. And we use AI to translate ad copy and deploy campaigns across 150 countries.

Like any tool, AI has limitations. That’s why humans remain essential. When we use AI to translate ad copy, a real person reviews every single piece before it goes live. AI can enhance the brilliance and judgment of our teams, not replace it. It can help us put out better work more quickly and at scale, but not without strong human judgment.

So what would I tell my business owner friend today? That this is just the starting line.

The future of AI is not set. It will be shaped by our actions today. It’s on all of us to be curious. This curiosity is what drives amazing creativity and makes all of our work great.

It’s rare that we have an opportunity to shape the future together. Today is one of these moments.

More must-read commentary published by Fortune:

  • Booz Allen Hamilton CEO: America needs a whole-of-nation approach in its great power competition with China
  • NYC comptroller: Food delivery apps are blaming minimum pay for inflation. It’s baloney
  • Big Tech employees missed out on $5.1 billion in 401(k) gains over the last decade because of fossil fuels, new research finds
  • ‘As quick as 5 minutes in California or as grueling as 11 hours in Texas’: Research reveals new post-Dobbs map of abortion access driving times

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

About the Author
By Lorraine Twohill
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

Sofia
CommentaryLeadership
This CEO became 3x more productive with AI. Then she read what her daughter wrote about it at Dartmouth
By Maria Colacurcio and Sofia FreiJune 28, 2026
19 hours ago
Anthony Scaramucci
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Anthony Scaramucci on America 250: where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
By Anthony ScaramucciJune 28, 2026
22 hours ago
family
CommentaryColleges and Universities
More than 3 million college students are raising kids. Most won’t graduate
By Enyi OkebugwuJune 28, 2026
22 hours ago
dr
Commentarydisruption
The uncertainty paradox: believe it or not, today’s massive uncertainty creates the best conditions for disruptive growth
By James G. Naples, Wendy K. Smith and Scott D. AnthonyJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
templet
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
This rural Maine factory made 100 million COVID swabs a month. Its CEO says manufacturing’s best days are ahead
By Timothy Templet and Virginia TempletJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
jon
Commentaryphilanthropy
Shell Foundation CEO: climate tech works. Getting it to a billion people who need it is the hard part
By Jonathan BermanJune 26, 2026
3 days ago

Most Popular

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
4 days ago
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Success
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 28, 2026
21 hours ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
20 hours ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
Politics
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
By Jason MaJune 28, 2026
14 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.