# 596 – Marketing in the AI Era with Shannon Bailey Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey.md Podcast: [The How of Business - How to start, run, grow and exit a small business.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204) Published: 2026-02-16T08:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://howofbusiness.libsyn.com/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/howofbusiness/Episode_596_-_Shannon_Bailey.mp3?dest-id=346019 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204/episodes/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey Duration seconds: 2230 ## Resource How AI is reshaping small business marketing and why clear positioning and strong messaging matter more than ever. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/596-shannon-bailey-marketing-and-ai/ Branding and messaging expert Shannon Bailey shares her entrepreneurial journey and explains (starting at 11:10) why clear positioning and concise messaging are essential in the AI-driven marketing era. As AI tools like ChatGPT reshape how customers search for information, small business marketing is entering a new era that rewards clarity over cleverness and positioning over fluff. In this episode, Henry Lopez chats with branding and messaging strategist Shannon Bailey, founder of Make Progress Strategies. Shannon begins by sharing her entrepreneurial journey, from a career in sales and corporate leadership to launching her own consulting firm, and what led her to take that leap into business ownership. We then explore how AI is changing marketing. Shannon explains why AI doesn't make marketing more technical, but more strategic. As AI platforms synthesize and recommend businesses instead of simply listing search results, vague positioning and generic messaging get exposed quickly. We discuss why small businesses may actually benefit in this shift, how earned authority now matters more than SEO tricks, and why niching down expands your reach instead of limiting it. Shannon also shares practical steps you can take today, including how to test your visibility using AI tools themselves. If you're feeling overwhelmed by AI disruption, this conversation will help you refocus on the fundamentals: clear messaging, strong positioning, and speaking directly to your ideal client, while also offering inspiration from Shannon's own path into entrepreneurship. Shannon Bailey is a st… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204/episodes/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-how-of-business-how-to-start-run-grow-and-exit-a-small-business-435204/596-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-shannon-bailey.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.