Edge Implements AI: A Q&A with Amy Juers

Reprinted with permission from the February 2025 issue of Marketing the Law Firm. © 2025 ALM Global, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.  All rights reserved.

By Steve Salkin

In late January, Edge Marketing unveiled the implementation of generative AI into its legal marketing practice, and along with it, a refresh of its brand. I spoke with Edge’s CEO, Amy Juers, MBA, about what AI can do for legal marketers in general and what went into the decision to implement AI and how Edge did it.

MLF: First of all, congratulations on the achievement and the rebrand. I have spoken with you and the Edge Marketing team about using generative AI in legal many times, and we’ve certainly published plenty of articles in Marketing the Law Firm about it. So before we get into the specifics of Edge’s foray into implementing GenAI, and maybe this does lead into it, how, in general, can legal marketers leverage GenAI?

Juers: This is a great question, and I don’t know if you’ll like my answer because it is pretty point-blank! When Edge embarked on the journey of exploring AI, we took a deliberate approach by mapping out our entire workflow from lead ingestion through delivery, reporting and data analysis, and then asked ourselves the question, “Where can we inject AI?” We found that you can use it in every aspect of marketing and PR!

MLF: Are there traditional marketing tools and/or tasks that GenAI can replace, or at least make more efficient, that marketers aren’t currently taking advantage of?

Juers: AI changes everything. You can apply AI to strategy, content, design, video, music creation and the list goes on. For example, when we were preparing to launch Edge’s brand refresh, we trained our AI system on our brand and when it came time to develop content, it knew our brand voice and with some parameters and guidance, and, of course, human editing and review, we produced an entire launch campaign rather quickly. Because the model was trained and refined by us, the output was so much better than we ever imagined. It is like having an additional staff member on our team who is smart, strategic, and resilient. Think of it as an enabler. It enables you to accomplish more. Our clients are going to appreciate having campaigns delivered to them that are precisely the right content, targeting the right people and deployed at the right time.

MLF: Ok, let’s get into some more details about Edge’s decision to implement AI, because we’ve all been hearing about using GenAI in law, and in fact many of our readers have been marketing the use of it. But we haven’t really heard much about using AI on the marketing side itself. First, what led you to the decision to make the move to implementation? Was it one thing or the culmination of a bunch of things you saw happening in the industry?

Juers: It was a couple of things that made us jump all in for AI. When Open.ai launched Chat GPT November of 2022, we took a look at it and played around a little in it, but the content we got out of it was not authentic or really even useable. We also sensed a lot of uncertainty from a market on perception of the technology and so we, as a team here at Edge, decided to wait and see what would be next.

I began to truly grasp the profound impact of AI on marketing this past summer. I attended a technology conference where Ian Bremmer was the keynote. Ian is a global political analyst who is often on many of national news networks like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. He spoke about how America’s leadership in AI and the significant capital being invested to advance this technology. His insights were eye-opening, highlighting not only the opportunities AI presents but also the urgency for industries to adapt.

That moment sparked a deeper reflection for me. I realized it was time to explore how we, as a team at Edge, could embrace this transformative change. By doing so, we aim to elevate our agency to new heights and help our clients thrive.

I’m going to get a little personal here, but I have been around since before email and the Internet. I saw those possibilities and then came along social media. And now I’m here at the beginning of AI. I have always loved technology and how it can make our lives easier. In relation to all that I have seen and experienced, trust me when I say that AI is revolutionary and from a marketing and PR perspective, we are at the early adoption stages. It is going to provide a massive advantage to marketers who embrace this innovation now.

MLF: How, specifically, will Edge be using AI?

Juers: At this point in time, Edge has applied AI to about 80 percent of its operations and in the coming months, we’re on target to hit 100%. The saying, how do you eat an elephant comes to mind, one bite at a time! AI can be daunting, some of it is good, and some of it is bad. When we did our research and testing, we were focused on the quality, and authenticity of its output, data security and safety.

MLF: What AI tools are you using? Did you develop an in-house system or did you partner with an AI provider?

Juers: We will be implementing a hybrid approach using both existing tools for some things and building our own tools for others (more to come on that later!). The goal is to remain agile from a technology perspective because AI is in its emergent stage in terms of marketing and PR and we want to be nimble yet strategic and safe.

MLF: I want to ask about the cost of the implementation. I won’t ask for a specific number (unless you’re willing to share), but I’m curious if the cost ended up being about what you thought it would be or if there were unexpected items that added to the budget, and if it ever got to the point where the cost became prohibitive.

Juers: There are two costs to consider. Time and money. Alongside significant upfront and then ongoing financial investments, my team is investing their time and energy in perfecting the use of these AI technologies. If you have ever gone down the proverbial rabbit hole of AI, you know this can be a monumental undertaking. What you need to think about is once the tools and team are in place, the quality and precision and results from your marketing and PR campaigns will pay back in dividends. We just launched our AI-enabled service offering, but from the energy I am seeing from clients and prospects already, I see nothing but blue skies ahead.

MLF: How will a firm determine the ROI on implementing GenAI? Are there specific KPIs you’ll look at? And how far out will you wait to see what impact the implementation has?

Juers: At a high level, I would look at KPIs tied to email marketing databases and campaigns, website traffic, social engagement, and ultimately revenue. AI empowers you to design campaigns that have the right message, going to the right person at the right time … as a marketer, that’s the ongoing challenge and you can’t do any better than that!

MLF: What advice can you share with other marketers who might be somewhere along the road to AI implementation? What obstacles did you come across, whether foreseen or unforeseen?

Juers: Get acclimated to using AI on a daily basis. Any marketer who understands how to put the latest AI innovations to work will have an unfair competitive advantage over other marketers. This is both exciting and scary. It’s exciting because you now have the opportunity to set yourself apart from others, have a deep understanding of the power of these tools and accomplish a lot more than you ever could imagine. Warning that all AI isn’t good. There could be hallucinations, plagiarism and other threats. Be sure to find and use a technology that is secure and always, always analyze and give it your expert review before sharing.

MLF: Let’s get into the marketing perspective a bit, since other marketers I’m sure will be interested in that part of it. You issued a press release at the end of January. Was there anything particular about the timing of the announcement, or was it just “ok, we’re ready with this, let’s go.”?

Juers: As with any technological development or integration, there is no perfect time to launch. Perhaps after beta testers and success stories are built, you can launch. But if you think about how fast AI has come into the market, and affected the market and our everyday lives, the speed is astounding. AI is already 10 steps ahead of you and it is moving faster than anyone. It is like you are running a race and you are near the finish line but that finish line keeps moving out ahead of you and you’ll never cross it. That’s a daunting thought, but that’s the reality and we have to be fine with that. That being said, we are embracing AI and 2025 is the beginning of a bold new era for Edge Marketing!

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Steve Salkin, Esq. is the Editor-in-Chief of Marketing the Law Firm. He can be reached at ssalkin@alm.com or on LinkedIn.