Our ongoing AI Innovators series spotlights leaders driving change and transforming industries through artificial intelligence. Our latest spotlight is on Jessica Hreha, AI Transformation Director at Jasper. 

With a background in marketing and early leadership in marketing AI innovation, Jessica is passionate about helping enterprises explore how AI can drive growth, deliver business outcomes, and transform the marketing function.

Jessica’s journey reflects a deep commitment to integrating AI into marketing strategies and ensuring teams have the skills and tools needed to thrive in an evolving digital landscape. Below, we present a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with Jessica, offering insights into her approach to digital and AI transformations and the broader implications of AI in marketing.

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Q&A with Jessica Hreha

I’d like to learn a little bit more about what you like to do in your spare time. 

Jessica:  I’m a mom of two boys, so lately, my free time revolves around their sports activities. Weekends are filled with 10U and 8U baseball games, and swim team is in full swing. We even went to our first Savannah Bananas game last weekend in Charlotte. So, it’s safe to say that sports and fitness are a big part of our family time.

Please tell us more about yourself, your role, and your background at Jasper.

Jessica: I lead the AI Transformation Office at Jasper, a role that was created based on my prior experience as one of Jasper’s first enterprise customers. Back then, I was leading global demand content strategy at a B2B software company. We started with 10 Jasper licenses and scaled up to 765 global marketing FTEs.

Along the way, I established the industry’s first Marketing AI Council, and with that team, we developed AI usage guidelines and drove a steady cadence of AI literacy and enablement programs. With this cross-functional group of “doers,”  we piloted use cases across all global marketing functions. That experience—strategic piloting, scaling, and championing responsible AI adoption—is what I now bring to Jasper to support our enterprise clients on their own AI journeys. Building on what works best for our clients, we scale proven strategies and provide ongoing advisory support to better serve their needs.

So what does Jasper do?

Jessica: Jasper is a purpose-built generative AI platform for marketers that unifies the brand experience, accelerates content velocity, and automates marketing processes—at scale. Marketers today are overloaded, and Jasper is here to lighten that load by offering a user-friendly, scalable solution tailored to their needs, without requiring advanced prompt engineering or building custom GPTs. There’s a gap between AI usage and impact and Jasper’s proving to be the solution that closes that gap and drives real business outcomes. 

You mentioned AI counseling for enterprise customers. Do they have concerns about implementing AI in marketing or across their organization? What procedures or guidelines to help ease that concern? 

Jessica: Concerns vary depending on each team’s AI maturity. Often, IT is either rolling out general-purpose tools like Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, or Gemini, or they’re building internal solutions. But marketers need something more specialized.

The biggest questions I hear are: How do we add another tool when the team is already stretched thin? How do we ensure it’s actually helpful? That’s where my three pillars come in:

1. AI Literacy: Foundational education to demystify generative AI and shift the mindset from hype to helpful.
2. Strategic Use Case Identification: Moving beyond ad hoc experimentation to core, role-aligned use cases that integrate seamlessly into daily workflows.
3. Change Leadership: Not just managing change but leading it—through culture, communication, and leading by example at every level.

“Marketers are already stretched—so how do we give them tools that truly lighten the load? It starts with foundational AI education, helping teams see it as a strategic partner that elevates their roles and impact.”

— Jessica Hreha, AI Transformation Director @ Jasper

You mentioned AI, and marketing is overtaxed. And when companies struggle, it’s one of the first things that gets cut. So with AI, how do you see companies using or marketing teams using AI? Will it change the way they operate or the way they structure their teams? 

Jessica: At its core, AI becomes your strategic thought partner. Initially, most teams focus on content creation—transforming existing assets into abstracts, landing pages, social posts, and more. That alone has shown 90% time savings and significant cost reductions.

But it’s not just about efficiency. AI opens up new possibilities, like one-to-one account personalization at scale. For example, Jasper’s marketing team now creates custom landing pages tailored to each prospect’s brand voice and industry, featuring personalized content examples and calls to action. That level of customization wasn’t humanly possible before, and the team discovered it’s a 20x ROI in terms of the results they’re getting compared to the time it took to build the workflow.

“We’re not just using AI to optimize existing processes — we’re redefining what’s possible. From slashing content costs by 90% to achieving 20x ROI with hyper-personalized campaigns, AI lets us create experiences and workflows that simply weren’t humanly possible before.”

— Jessica Hreha, AI Transformation Director @ Jasper

How do you see AI agents evolving and being able to execute those from end to end? And where does the human in the loop need to be applied to that? 

Jessica: Jasper’s mission is to elevate all marketing and all marketers, with humans intentionally in the loop. For example, we’ve launched agents for research, personalization, and SEO optimization. They complete multi-step tasks, but nothing gets published without human review.

That’s what responsible adoption looks like: automation where it makes sense, but always with human oversight to ensure brand trust and credibility. Especially in marketing, the brand is personal. It has to be protected.

Are Marketing teams that use AI more efficient, and do you see specialized marketing roles evolving?

Jessica: I’ve gone back and forth on the topic of marketing generalists versus specialists. On one hand, AI lets specialists broaden their capabilities. On the other hand, deep expertise still matters. A great writer or designer knows how to push AI further, break patterns, and create standout work.

For example, I’m not a visual designer, so I struggle to prompt AI effectively for images. But a designer understands lighting, angles, and style—so they get much better results. It really depends on what quality you need and what’s acceptable for your business.

“AI is helping marketing specialists broaden their capabilities, but deep expertise still matters. A great writer or designer knows how to push AI further, break patterns, and create work that truly stands out—something AI alone can’t always do.”

— Jessica Hreha, AI Transformation Director @ Jasper

What first sparked your interest in AI and technology? 

Jessica: I’ve always been adjacent to tech. I worked in telecom and was often the one introducing and rolling out new platforms. In 2022, I took a Kellogg course on digital marketing, analytics, and AI. That’s when I first discovered Jasper.

At the time, I didn’t think I could get it approved at a 30,000-person global company. But when I did the math—cutting agency fees in half and speeding up delivery—I made the business case. That led to adopting Jasper, launching the Marketing AI Council, and going all in on generative AI.

What are some of the most exciting advancements, either across all departments, technology-wise, or even marketing, that’s easier for you to think through? 

Jessica: It’s not just the tech that’s exciting for me—it’s the opportunity it creates for people. Anyone at any level can step up, lead, and redefine their career. Whether it’s starting an AI council, driving enablement, or piloting use cases, this moment is incredibly empowering. And it all comes back to leadership—not title, but the ability to lead through change.

Who do you follow, a company person or whatever, to stay up on AI trends? 

I follow the Marketing AI Institute and their podcast, The Artificial Intelligence Show. Founders Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput also wrote Marketing Artificial Intelligence, which was a huge influence for me in launching the Marketing AI Council in early 2023. They keep things practical and focused on business impact. I also follow Ethan Mollick from Wharton. He publishes some of the most accessible and insightful research out there.

Many people have been thinking about marketing, specifically SEO to GEO. What does that mean for marketers in terms of clicks and zero-click marketing?

Jessica: I’m not an SEO expert, but from what I’ve observed, I still think it all comes back to content strategy 101. Create assets for every channel and format. Share customer stories. Focus on audience-first content. That’s how you show up in a generative search world—it’s really about being everywhere your audience is, with content that resonates.

Closing Thoughts

Jessica’s insights underscore a pivotal shift in the marketing landscape – where AI enhances creative processes and empowers both individuals and organizations to explore new possibilities. As AI technology advances, leaders like Jessica play a critical role in navigating this transformation, ensuring that innovation remains human-centered and purpose-driven.

Stay tuned for more insights as we continue our AI Innovators series, exploring the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence and industry transformation.

Empowering AI-Driven Growth with the GoLinks Productivity Suite

As Jessica Hreha shared, thriving in the AI era requires the right mix of strategy, tools, and cultural change. The GoLinks Productivity Suite—including GoLinks for streamlined knowledge access, GoSearch for AI-powered enterprise search, and GoProfiles for connection and visibility across teams—supports this transformation by turning workplace knowledge into a strategic advantage. 

Whether you’re scaling personalization, enhancing team agility, or empowering employees to lead change, the GoLinks suite helps marketing and people teams alike navigate and accelerate AI adoption with clarity, context, and confidence.