A Conceptual Framework for Exploring the Application of Generative AI in Content Marketing: Emphasizing Its Collaborative Role with Employees and Customers

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continues to integrate into content marketing, it has significantly transformed the way firms create and distribute marketing content to customers. In this research, we first identify GenAI’s unique characteristics, including usability, flexibility, and productivity. Building on a review of GenAI’s technical basis and its application in content marketing practice, we propose a conceptual framework to explore the applications of GenAI in content marketing. The conceptual framework elaborates the antecedents and consequences of applying GenAI in content creation and distribution processes emphasizing the collaborative dynamics of between GenAI tools and the users, namely employee and customers. Specifically, characteristics of firm, employee, GenAI, task and customer, serve as antecedents of employee-Gen AI collaborated content creation and customer-Gen AI collaborated content distribution, and customer engagement as consequences. Finally, we discuss the potential concerns and challenges firms may face when applying and integrating GenAI into content marketing practices, such as issues related to fabrication, credibility, intellectual property, ethics, and safety. We also discussed potential moderating and mediating factors for future research.