CLEVELAND, Sept. 1, 2026 - SmarterX launched Marketing AI Month on Monday, making its full AI for Marketing Course Series available at no cost through September 30. The initiative addresses a widening skills gap as marketing teams face pressure to adopt AI tools without consistent access to structured, role-specific training.
The five-course series delivers 3.5 hours of self-paced instruction through SmarterX's AI Academy. It moves from foundational AI concepts to hands-on application, covering generative AI, prompt engineering, custom assistants, multimodal tools, and deep research techniques.
"AI is moving too quickly for AI literacy to be optional," said Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of SmarterX. "Every marketer needs a foundational understanding of what these technologies can do, where they can create value, and how they will affect careers and organizations. Marketing AI Month is about giving more people a practical path forward."
What the course series includes
The curriculum helps learners identify and prioritize AI use cases relevant to their own work. Participants build a prioritized inventory of potential AI applications and develop a 30-day action plan tailored to their role. Those who complete all five courses earn an AI for Marketing Professional certificate.
The series also provides frameworks for evaluating AI tools, a skill Roetzer has long argued is underdeveloped in marketing departments. Rather than chasing every new tool release, the course emphasizes matching specific use cases to appropriate technologies.
Marketing AI Month runs under The AI Literacy Project, SmarterX's broader effort to widen access to practical AI education. The company encourages participants to share the free enrollment with colleagues, clients, and professional communities.
Live event caps the month
The program concludes with a live Ask-Me-Anything session on October 1 at 12:00 p.m. ET. SmarterX team members Paul Roetzer, Mike Kaput, and Cathy McPhillips will field questions from registered learners and connect course material to real marketing workflows.
Marketers can enroll through September 30 at smarterx.ai/marketing-ai-month-september-2026.
Why this matters for marketers
Free access to structured AI training removes the cost barrier that keeps many practitioners stuck in trial-and-error mode. The course's emphasis on building a concrete use-case inventory and 30-day plan means participants walk away with something more durable than general awareness - they get a roadmap they can act on immediately. For marketing managers looking to build team-wide capability, AI Learning Path for Marketing Managers offers a complementary resource focused on leadership-level AI skills.
The certificate also carries practical weight. As hiring managers increasingly list AI competency in job descriptions, verifiable completion of a focused course series gives candidates a credential that speaks directly to that requirement.
Your membership also unlocks:
