AI for professionals
AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media
Do digital marketing with AI: write on-brand content, run search ads, social and email, and read the numbers that matter.
AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for digital marketers, marketing students and business owners. It has 9 modules and takes about 7.6 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 7.6 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Digital marketers, marketing students and business owners
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: analyst, operations specialist, project coordinator and team lead using AI tools. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- A free account on ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini; a free HubSpot account is optional. Nothing to install. Hardware: any computer or phone with a browser.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Map a customer journey and the marketing funnel
- Brief an AI tool and edit its drafts into on-brand content
- Write for both classic search and AI answers
- Read CTR, CPC, CPA and ROAS for your ads
- Plan a social calendar and an email sequence with consent
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Digital marketers, marketing students and business owners.
Level: Beginner. Beginner. No marketing background needed; if you already work in marketing, the AI modules will be the new part.
What you need
Software: A free account on ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini; a free HubSpot account is optional. Nothing to install..
Hardware: Any computer or phone with a browser.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
9 modules in order, at your own pace. 7.6 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1What a digital marketer does, and where AI fits11m
- 2The customer journey and the marketing funnel32m
- 3Writing marketing content with AI, with lab practice: 35m
- 4SEO in the age of AI search50m
- 5Search ads, display and AI keyword research, with lab practice: 43m
- 6Social media strategy with AI41m
- 7Campaigns and email with AI assistants, with lab practice: 34m
- 8Measuring what AI-assisted marketing achieves, with lab practice: 23m
Show the other 1 modules
- 9Final Assessment12m
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
Show what to download (4 tools)
One AI assistant
Any one is enough.
- 01Free plan with limits
ChatGPT
OpenAI, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser, plus mobile and desktop apps
- Account
- A free OpenAI account
The Free plan allows everyday text chats. File uploads, image creation, voice and data analysis have tighter limits than paid plans, and ads may appear in some countries. Paid plans raise the limits.
Steps
- 1.Open chatgpt.com.
- 2.Click Sign up and create an account with your email, or a Google, Microsoft or Apple account.
- 3.Verify your email and confirm your details.
- 4.Type your question in the message box.
- Do not paste personal data, passwords or confidential work files.
- ChatGPT tells you when you reach a limit. Wait for it to reset or switch to a lighter task.
Open ChatGPTchatgpt.com - 02Free plan with limits
Claude
Anthropic, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser, plus desktop and mobile apps
- Account
- A free Claude account (you must be 18 or over)
The Free plan covers chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and Artifacts. Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour window and depend on message length and features used. Paid plans give more usage.
Steps
- 1.Open claude.ai (or see the plans at claude.com/pricing).
- 2.Sign up with your email or Google account and confirm your email.
- 3.Confirm you are 18 or over and accept the terms.
- 4.Type your question in the message box.
- Long conversations and large files use up your limit faster. Start a new chat for a new topic.
- Do not paste personal data or confidential work files.
Open Claudeclaude.com - 03Free with limits
Google Gemini
Google, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser, plus Android and iOS apps
- Account
- A free Google account
Free with a Google account, including a Flash model, limited access to the Pro model, image generation, Deep Research and Gems. Paid Google AI plans give higher limits. Some features require you to be 18 or over.
Steps
- 1.Open gemini.google.com.
- 2.Sign in with your Google account.
- 3.Accept the terms the first time you use it.
- 4.Type your question or upload a file in the prompt box.
- Use a personal Google account. Work or school accounts depend on your administrator's settings.
Open Google Geminigemini.google.com
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 04Free
HubSpot Free CRM
HubSpot, in the browser
- Runs on
- Any modern web browser, plus mobile apps
- Account
- A free HubSpot account (no credit card)
Free with no expiry date and no credit card. The free plan includes up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts, contact management, deal pipelines and reporting dashboards. Paid tiers add more features.
Steps
- 1.Open hubspot.com/products/crm and click Get started free.
- 2.Create your account with your email or Google account.
- 3.Answer the short set-up questions about your business.
- 4.Import or add a few test contacts and create a deal pipeline.
- Use made-up test contacts for coursework, not real customer data.
Open HubSpot Free CRMhubspot.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise reading a campaign report honestly in the AI Workbench: catch a wrong click-through rate, claims with no evidence and an A/B test called a win too early.
- Check the AI's work: marketingAI Workbench, about 25 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Check the AI's work: marketing
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 8 hours
An AI-assisted launch campaign for a small block-print brand: campaign brief, content calendar, AI content rules and results report
Plan, create and measure a four-week launch campaign for a small direct-to-consumer brand, using AI where it helps and checking what it writes. You produce a campaign brief, a content calendar, one page of AI content rules and a results report. The report judges each channel against the brand's margin.
- 4documents in the pack
- 6steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 5things to hand in
- 8 hof work, at your pace
- PlanCampaign brief: summer collection launch
- RegisterFour-week content calendar (week 1 extract)
- ProcedureNightingale rules for AI-assisted content
- ReportLaunch campaign results against targets
Do it in the lab: 5 steps.
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
AI for Project Management
Eight short weeks of using AI for charters, schedules, risks, minutes and status reports, and of knowing where its estimates fall short: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Analyst
- Operations specialist
- Project coordinator
- Team lead using AI tools
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Grow with Google, HubSpot, HubSpot Academy, HubSpot AI, HubSpot Marketing. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Grow with Google · HubSpot · HubSpot Marketing. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Do I need marketing experience?
No. The course starts from what digital marketers do and the customer journey, and builds up to AI tools and measurement.
Is this Google's Digital Marketing Certificate?
No. It uses lessons Google and HubSpot publish free on YouTube, credited on each module, and neither company is affiliated with EDWartens. EDWartens wrote the notes, practice, project and assessments and issues its own certificate.
Which AI tools do I need?
A free account on ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini is enough. A free HubSpot account is optional for the email and campaign exercises.
Will AI-written content hurt my search rankings?
Not because it is AI-written. Search engines reward helpful, reliable content however it is made, and penalise mass-produced pages made to manipulate rankings. The course shows how to use AI for research and drafts and add the experience that makes a page worth ranking.
How long does the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course take?
About 8 hours of video lessons and study across nine modules, plus about 8 hours if you do the optional launch-campaign project. The course plan spreads it over about four weeks, at your own pace.
What will I be able to do after it?
You can plan a small campaign from the funnel to the numbers. You brief AI tools and edit their drafts, and write pages for classic and AI search. You set a target CPA from your margin and run social and email with consent. Then you report results against goals. The project gives you a complete campaign pack to show.
Is the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a Google or HubSpot certification.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course cover, module by module?
The AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course has 9 modules. It opens with "What a digital marketer does, and where AI fits", goes through "The customer journey and the marketing funnel", "SEO in the age of AI search", "Social media strategy with AI" and "Measuring what AI-assisted marketing achieves" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course?
After the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course: Map the customer journey and the marketing funnel; Brief AI tools so drafts fit your brand and never invent facts; Write for classic search and AI answers with first-hand experience. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course, and does it cost anything?
For the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course, software: A free account on ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini; a free HubSpot account is optional. Nothing to install. Hardware: any computer or phone with a browser. The course itself is free.
Is the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course suitable for me, and what level is it?
AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media is rated beginner. Beginner. No marketing background needed; if you already work in marketing, the AI modules will be the new part. It is written for digital marketers, marketing students and business owners, and takes about 7.6 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course?
Skills from the AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media course (for example: map the customer journey and the marketing funnel) are used in roles such as analyst, operations specialist, project coordinator and team lead using AI tools, and in digital marketing specialist work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
AI for Digital Marketing and Social Media, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.