Transforming Digital Marketing with AI: Chelsea Nodine’s Blueprint for Smarter Systems

The Catalyst for the Trades

Is AI the future of digital marketing, or just another buzzword? In this episode, Chelsea Nodine—Senior Director of Digital Transformation at CI Web Group—shares the real story behind her journey from the wilds of Alaska to automating entire marketing departments. Host Jennifer Bagley and Chelsea dive deep into what it actually takes to move a business from outdated manual processes to fully automated, AI-powered workflows.

From revamping project management to deploying agentic networks that outperform traditional teams, Chelsea reveals practical strategies, painful lessons, and surprising wins. Whether you’re an agency, contractor, or business leader exploring the shift to AI-enabled marketing, you’ll learn how to future-proof your team, what tools and systems are delivering results, and how to navigate the human side of transformation.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction: Meet Chelsea Nodine and her unconventional path to digital marketing
01:15 – Alaska, Biology, and Finding Marketing: Chelsea’s winding career trajectory
03:38 – Agency Life, Automations, and Joining CI Web Group
05:10 – The Project Management Overhaul: Moving to Asana and creating scalable workflows
06:44 – Automating for Everyone: Motivation behind building smarter systems
08:28 – The Big Shift: Moving from WordPress to AI-enabled Webflow sites
09:10 – What’s Automated Now: Onboarding, project setup, SEO, content, and more
11:18 – Integrations and Next-Level Automations: Slack, Figma, and agent networks
12:03 – The Challenge of Change: Human impact, layoffs, and the path to efficiency
14:45 – What Leaders Need to Know: How to secure your role and empower teams for AI
17:02 – Just Start AI: Building a learning community for industry professionals
20:25 – Evolving Teams and Rising with AI: Encouraging innovation from within
22:35 – Influencing Change Across Departments: Collaboration with other leaders
26:00 – Beyond Zapier: The difference between workflow automations and agentic networks
29:58 – Real Results, Fast: How AI agents are transforming SEO, content, and local marketing
32:41 – Pulse, Cortex Local, and Scaling Deliverables: Automating daily tasks and updates
36:33 – From 70 to 1,000 Pages Overnight: The new rules for SEO and site launches
41:15 – The Power of Daily Blogging and AI Search for Real-World Results
44:07 – Choosing Your Agency, Embracing AI, and Where to Start
48:45 – Behind the Scenes with AI Engineers: How late-night breakthroughs are born
48:54 – Final Thoughts and How to Get Started

Guest Details:

Chelsea Nodine
Title: Senior Director of Digital Transformation, CI Web Group

Background: Chelsea Nodine oversees all AI, automation, and digital transformation efforts at CI Web Group, a national leader in home services digital marketing. With experience spanning in-house marketing, SEO, account management, and operations, Chelsea is known for creating scalable systems and leading teams through major tech shifts. Her unconventional start—from biology studies in Alaska to building agentic networks for clients—shapes her pragmatic, people-first approach to change.

Relevant Links:

• Just Start AI
• Catalyst for the Trades Podcast
• CI Web Group
• The Opus & Golds Group

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