Artificial intelligence and automation have become perhaps the biggest buzzwords of the decade.

Top tech firms have invested hundreds of billions of dollars on AI technologies, infrastructure and development. ChatGPT now has close to 700 million active weekly users, receiving more than 2.5 billion prompts every day from around the world.

It’s no different in the promo world. A quarter of distributors reported using AI in some capacity, according to Counselor’s 2025 State of the Industry report, as did two-thirds of suppliers. Constantly advancing technology means it’s easier than ever to find software options that automate the order entry process, produce images and write marketing copy, or even power warehouse robots.

Automation and AI aren’t fully interchangeable terms. Automation is all about doing repetitive tasks like data entry automatically, without input from a human user every time. Artificial intelligence is almost like a virtual brain that can make decisions based on user input – whether that’s chatbots like ChatGPT, notetakers like Otter.ai or even self-driving cars that analyze road conditions. In other words, artificial intelligence can be a tool for automation – for example, a system where an AI scans order proofs for potential errors and sends an automated alert to the customer if it finds issues – but isn’t necessarily automation on its own.

But whether used together or separate, both of these tools have the same end-goal: working faster and more efficiently, whether it’s through back-end integration or helping with administrative work like emails.

There are certainly downsides and risks. Content or information you input may be added to the database that the AI system is trained on, without certain securities or permissions in place. There’s the environmental factor to consider, with a single ChatGPT inquiry using about five times more electricity than that of traditional web search. And promo pros seem to be in agreement that, at the end of the day, AI or automation certainly can’t replace a human touch in essential aspects of business, from building relationships to fact-checking automated or AI-generated work.

But there’s also a consensus that not only is AI and automation technology not going anywhere, but it’s going to become a much bigger part of everyday business – and you don’t want to be left behind. To get more specific on how the promo industry is using AI and automation, ASI Media spoke with 10 promo pros who shared how they’re employing these tools to work faster, smarter and more efficiently.

Dan Frank, CEO of Silverscreen Decoration & Fulfillment (asi/87316)

Dan Frank is all in on AI – with a strategy. He’s made a major investment in both an AI-focused operations specialist on staff and a forthcoming complete overhaul of the Reno, NV-based Silverscreen Decoration & Fulfillment’s tech stack – the back- and front-end software tools and databases that run the company’s operating system. Why? To embed an AI system into the tech to make everything from further website development to data analysis easier and faster.

“Everything that I’ve learned seems to be that this front-end stuff is all really helpful, and it can reduce administrative time,” Frank says. “But if it’s not embedded in your tech stack, you’re really not getting the best use of AI.”

Pam Weaver, senior account executive at Counselor Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000)

Pam Weaver turns to AI for two specific functions in her day-to-day work at HALO Branded Solutions. First, she’s found it helpful for revising emails to deal with tough situations – like an unhappy customer who approved a proof that turned out to be incorrect after printing, for example – when she wants to ensure her frustration isn’t impacting her communication. And second, she likes to do deep dives on potential product ideas when she gets a referral for a company in an industry she doesn’t know a lot about.

“If I don’t work with these people every day, or if I don’t know somebody in that industry, then I need to research who these people are,” Weaver says. “What types of things do they use every day? What’s important to them in their work process? And if I can come up with a creative idea that falls in those parameters, then I’m ahead.”

Jake Kitchell, enterprise sales manager at BoxUp (asi/41320)

At BoxUp, automating regular communications has been a huge time-saver. The supplier has had a system in place to send personalized follow-ups to quoted projects for several years, says Jake Kitchell, but a recent update to BoxUp’s CRM is set to allow automated email sequencing to follow up with leads after big industry events like ASI Chicago. The company will set up a campaign ahead of time, and if an initial reach out doesn’t get a response, the system will send a customized second message, and so forth.

“It’s not super time-consuming for a person to do manually,” Kitchell says, “but when you have 40 of them, it adds up.”

Ken McDowall, owner of Proforma Adams Promotions, an affiliate of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094)

Ken McDowall constantly has clients asking for localized products to be featured in their event giveaways or projects – and from his office in Toronto, he isn’t the expert on where to get the best artisanal cheese in Austin, TX, for a welcome basket, for example. So, at times like these, he’s leaned on ChatGPT to help source local products, outside the industry, to meet a hyper-specific need.

“It’s just another tool in our arsenal that we can use to simplify what we’re doing on a daily basis or make what we do on a daily basis easier or more productive,” McDowall says.

Andrew Witkin, founder & CEO of StickerYou (asi/89791)

StickerYou recently launched an AI-enabled live chat feature on its website that’s fully synced to the company’s back-end data, Andrew Witkin shares. There’s still the option to connect directly with a customer service or sales rep, of course, but if a client needs a quick answer after hours, they now can get one.

“They can get a quote in six seconds just with normal language typing back and forth,” Witkin says. “‘Give me a quote for 3-inch matte stickers.’ ‘Will these work in the dishwasher?’ It’s amazing how much it can answer.”

Brittany David, chief revenue officer of SnugZ USA (asi/88060)

Brittany David sees so much opportunity for AI and automation at SnugZ – everything from producing large amounts of quality content across all platforms to drilling down into data to make sure it gets into the right hands faster. Fact-checking outputs is crucial, she says, but her teams are able to get to the double-checking stage so much faster than they otherwise would.

“Some of it is really just getting data analysis or reporting or different things pointed somewhere faster to get to a true analysis,” David says. “Everything that we could import to Excel or any type of document – financial analysis, sales numbers, marketing numbers – anything that we can plug in and play that is data-driven, we’re able to manipulate very quickly.”

Lisa Hubbard, vice president of sales & marketing at Counselor Top 40 distributor The Vernon Company (asi/351700)

At The Vernon Company, Lisa Hubbard and her team have been heavily investing in automation technology over the past few years, across all aspects of the business, particularly warehouse management, shipping solutions and back-end software systems. The goal is to streamline the flow of information everywhere from suppliers to customers, whether it’s real-time inventory, getting customer feedback before an order is placed or maximizing shipping efficiency.

“If [before] we were manually trying to figure out the most economical way to ship something, it’s now at our fingertips,” Hubbard says.

Justin Washburn, owner of Full Throttle Marketing, an affiliate of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma

After each of his virtual client meetings, Justin Washburn sends an immediate follow-up with a thank-you, a link to the recording and a synopsis of the key points discussed – and he does it so quickly with the help of the AI notetaker Fathom. During the meeting, Washburn can flag key points to emphasize in the synopsis, and the tool allows him a rapid turnaround time to keep him on the ball and at the top of clients’ minds right after they meet.

“Our industry has become so robust – there are so many products out there, there are so many suppliers,” Washburn says. “So to be able to streamline any of those processes and speed things up, that’s where AI comes in and really shines.”

Lori Wilson, graphics department manager at East Coast Umbrella (asi/51463)

The AI-embedded features in Adobe tools like Photoshop and Illustrator have been a huge help for Lori Wilson in the graphics department at East Coast Umbrella. She rarely uses the feature on product images directly, but after lots of trial and error, she finds them hugely helpful for jazzing up image backgrounds on brochures or catalogs, for example.

“I’m not afraid to press a button and see what happens,” she says. “You can always undo the changes within, so within the program, you just keep trying – you have to learn how to work things to get the result you want.”

Andy Shuman, general manager at Rockland Embroidery (asi/83089)

For Andy Shuman, “automation” once meant machinery to help with operational tasks, like folding shirts once they were embroidered. Now, he says, the “new age” of automation (at least at Pennsylvania-based contract decorator Rockland Embroidery) is through the integration of back-end software systems – from order processing to machine programming – to allow for faster data entry before an order hits the press.

“In the apparel world, print on demand is becoming ever increasingly popular,” Shuman says. “And so, with that being the case, any way that you can automate the processing – what we call the pre-press, or pre-machine processing of the order itself – is super beneficial.”