How generative AI is transforming pharma marketing

While consumer brands began their digital journeys years ago and are already seeing results, pharma marketing is still catching up. A lot of Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) are wary after experiencing an “omnichannel drift,” where digital efforts grew but real impact did not. Now, some wonder if generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is just another shiny object that won’t deliver.

Despite these concerns, it is tough to ignore what generative AI brings to the table. Generative AI can improve speed, productivity and quality in marketing while reducing the involved costs. As the push for more personalized, engaging content keeps growing, pharma marketers are starting to move forward. They know that AI isn’t going away and that it is set to become a big part of how they work.

Key use cases of gen AI in pharma marketing

• Faster insights generation: One major advantage of using generative ai in life sciences and pharma marketing is the ability to find meaningful insights quickly. Marketing teams often deal with mountains of research, quarterly business reviews, dashboards and presentations. Finding the key points can take weeks. Generative AI tools can scan these materials, summarize trends and reveal strategic signals in minutes, helping marketers make informed decisions faster.

• Easing first-mile content creation: Creating the first draft of marketing content can be slow and costly. It usually starts with a creative brief that goes back and forth between teams and agencies. Generative AI can support this process by producing initial concepts or drafts. This speeds up work and reduces cost while freeing up time for deeper strategic tasks.

• Tweaking final content: After campaigns, photo shoots and creative assets are finalized, small changes are often needed to tailor messaging for specific regions or audiences. Some marketers now use generative AI to adjust messaging or creatives to be segment-specific, making content more personalized and targeted.

• Improving personalization and review: Personalized content improves engagement but increases review complexity. Generative AI helps here too, by pulling approved language for medical and legal reviews and highlighting areas that need attention. This cuts down on manual work and speeds up the review process, so teams can personalize at scale without getting bogged down.

Steps for pharma marketers to begin their AI journey

No matter how they plan to use it, marketers agree on one thing—these technologies are already changing the way the world works. They have the potential to reshape pharma marketing, especially how content is created and managed.

Here are some steps that marketers can take to begin their AI journey:

• Start small with clear use cases that deliver visible value. Focus on areas like insights summarization or content drafts rather than full automation.

• Next, rethink workflows instead of layering AI on top of existing processes. Small process changes can unlock bigger benefits.

• Make sure that your team gets proper training. When people know how to use AI well and feel comfortable with it, they actually use it and that is where real progress happens.

• Finally, set up solid rules to keep everything compliant and high quality. A lot of companies bring in data analytics consulting to help with strategy, keeping things on track and making sure that AI supports real business goals.

Pharma companies that can figure out how to use AI effectively in their marketing will be the ones who will outpace those who do not. The question is not whether generative AI matters; it is if your team is ready to put it to work effectively.