U of Digital, the leading education platform for marketing and advertising professionals, has announced the launch of the AI Literacy Alliance with 14 industry partners. The initiative brings together companies building AI for marketing with U of Digital's education platform, curricula, and resources to create a shared foundation of understanding that helps marketers keep pace as AI capabilities rapidly advance.
According to Myles Younger, Chief Growth Officer at U of Digital, AI capability has sprinted ahead of AI literacy in the marketing industry. While new tools are launching daily, understanding hasn't kept pace with technological advancement. The current situation creates inefficiency as every AI-native company must individually educate its customers on foundational AI concepts. The AI Literacy Alliance addresses both problems simultaneously by preventing the industry from having to write the same AI playbook repeatedly.
The Alliance includes prominent industry partners: AdSkate, Anthrologic, Dstillery, Evertune, Gigi, Hightouch, MiQ, Optable, Snowflake, Transparent Partners, TwelveLabs, Viant, Vurvey Labs, and Yahoo DSP. These partners bring diverse perspectives on why AI literacy matters across different marketing functions.
Florian Delval, Product Marketing Principal for Marketing and Advertising at Snowflake, emphasized that data serves as the backbone of every AI breakthrough. Helping marketers build literacy around data and AI ensures innovation becomes part of every marketing decision. Alia Lamborghini, SVP of Global Revenue at Yahoo DSP, noted that AI is woven through programmatic media planning, activation, and measurement. For marketers and agencies to maximize intelligent DSPs, they need a shared foundation of AI literacy that allows the entire ecosystem to level up together.
Brian Stempeck, CEO and Co-founder of Evertune, highlighted how AI search is changing how brands are discovered. Marketers who understand how these systems actually work will be better positioned to influence the conversation. Alec Haase, General Manager of AI Products at Hightouch, pointed out that agents are redefining what it means to be a marketer. As new products emerge and existing tools become more autonomous, AI literacy becomes the most important skill for knowing how to direct these tools and evaluate what they produce.
The AI Literacy Alliance programming will grow and evolve to serve the industry, focusing initially on three core pillars. First, scalable AI education for marketers provides Alliance partners with U of Digital AI training credits they can extend to customers, accelerating adoption by pairing innovation with structured learning. Second, industry research and benchmarking allows partners to participate in U of Digital thought leadership initiatives, including the upcoming AI Literacy Benchmark Survey measuring AI knowledge and confidence across marketing and advertising. Third, curriculum collaboration and ecosystem visibility enables Alliance members to contribute expertise to U of Digital AI training curricula, helping shape how emerging AI capabilities are learned and adopted across the industry.
This initiative represents a significant step toward standardizing AI education in marketing at a time when technological advancement outpaces industry understanding. By creating a common foundation of literacy, the Alliance aims to help marketers explore and innovate with AI more confidently and effectively. The collaborative approach addresses a critical industry need as AI continues to transform marketing functions from media buying to brand discovery and autonomous campaign management. More information about the initiative is available at https://uof.digital/ai/alliance.
