# Human in the Loop or Hamster in the Wheel?
### Some traps of building marketing strategy with AI
AI promises to make us faster.
Faster research. Faster analysis. More ideas. More alternatives. More content. More decisions.
But does moving faster necessarily mean we’re making better decisions?
At our next Serbian Product Community meetup, we’ll explore that question with Maya Shamray, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Semrush.
In her talk, “Human in the Loop or Hamster in the Wheel?”, Maya will take a practical look at how AI is changing the way we research, shape, challenge, and execute marketing strategies — and at the less obvious costs that can come with it.
AI can help us explore more possibilities and introduce new perspectives into our work. At the same time, it can generate more noise, create additional work to review, and even give us a false sense of confidence in the decisions we make.
Drawing on research and her own hands-on experience using AI in everyday marketing work, Maya will explore recurring patterns she has observed:
🤖 Where does AI genuinely improve strategic thinking?
⚡ Where does it help us move faster and work better?
🌀 Where does it quietly introduce additional cost, complexity, or unnecessary work?
🧠 And where does human judgment still matter most?
Rather than another “AI will change everything” conversation, this will be a practical look at how to get more value from AI without simply making the wheel spin faster.
## 🎙️ About Maya Shamray
Maya Shamray is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Semrush, based in Belgrade, working at the intersection of AI, data, product, and market.
With more than 15 years of experience in marketing, Maya has built her career around turning complex technologies into clear product narratives, value propositions, and go-to-market strategies. Her experience spans SaaS, developer and data products, AI, and digital marketing, with previous roles at companies including Canonical and Adapty.
At Semrush, Maya focuses on how AI is reshaping search, customer journeys, brand visibility, and the way companies understand and reach their markets. She works closely with technical and creative teams to translate emerging technologies and large-scale data into products, insights, and stories that customers can actually use.
Throughout her career, Maya has led product launches, research initiatives, campaigns, webinars, and large-scale industry events, combining deep curiosity about technology with a strong focus on customer value and business impact.
## 🏢 About Semrush
Semrush is an international tech company with 11 offices around the world, including Belgrade.
The company is best known for its product, developed since 2008 — a leading brand visibility platform that helps marketers take control of their online presence and create measurable impact.
Built on one of the industry’s most expansive proprietary datasets, Semrush provides AI-driven insights across GEO, SEO, content marketing, paid media, and social strategy, helping brands become found, cited, and chosen everywhere search happens.
## 👀 Who should join?
This meetup will be especially relevant for:
• Product Managers and Product Leaders
• Product Marketing Managers
• Marketing and Growth professionals
• Founders and business leaders
• Researchers and strategists
• Anyone already using AI in their everyday work and wondering whether it is actually making their thinking better — or simply making them busier
If AI is already part of the way you research, plan, create, analyze, or make decisions, come and compare notes.
Because being human in the loop is useful only if we understand what the human is actually there to do.
See you at the meetup! 🚀
#AI #ProductMarketing #ProductManagement #MarketingStrategy #Semrush #SerbianProductCommunity
