OpenAI's Elke Karskens On Why AI Is Changing Brand Building

For years, marketers believed the biggest brands were built by grabbing attention. The louder the campaign, the bigger the impact. But OpenAI says that rule no longer applies.

As ChatGPT closes in on a billion weekly active users, the company believes the next generation of successful brands will not be the ones shouting the loudest. They will be the ones solving real problems.

That shift has changed the way OpenAI markets ChatGPT. Instead of convincing people to try AI, the company is now focused on helping them understand how it fits into their daily lives.

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According to Elke Karskens, OpenAI's Head of International Marketing, the biggest change is happening in the way consumers discover brands. Instead of scrolling endlessly through ads or social media posts, more people are turning to AI to ask questions, compare products and find solutions.

Speaking to Economic Times, Karskens said, "For years, brands had to compete for attention. Today, consumers increasingly come to AI with intent. They're asking questions, solving problems, and looking for help. So, the challenge shifts. The attention economy was about brands being interesting. The intelligence era is about brands being useful."

Rather than creating flashy campaigns around imagined possibilities, OpenAI studies how people already use ChatGPT and builds its marketing from there.

"We always start with real user behaviour. We don't invent use cases. We look at how people are using ChatGPT today and build our marketing around that," Karskens added.

India has become one of the biggest examples of that approach. The company said Indian users are driving demand for features such as learning tools, voice conversations and image generation. Their behaviour has even influenced products including Study Mode and ChatGPT Go.

Karskens said, "India is an incredibly important market for us. It's young, mobile-first, and incredibly innovative. Products like Study Mode and ChatGPT Go were built with Indian users in mind."

The rapid rise of AI has also sparked concerns that creative work could become repetitive. Karskens disagreed. She believes AI removes repetitive tasks, giving creative teams more time to focus on ideas.

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"We're entering one of the most exciting periods our industry has ever seen. AI lets teams move from an idea to a visual concept in hours, not weeks. That doesn't replace creativity. It gives creative people more time to do what they do best," she said.

But even as AI becomes more capable, Karskens believes one thing cannot be automated.

"Human judgement. AI can help with research, analysis, and prototyping, but it doesn't decide on the right message, context, or moment. Those decisions still come from people. Taste, context, and judgement become even more valuable," she said.