From smarter content to personalized patient engagement, compounding pharmacies are already leveraging AI today.

Let’s start with this: AI isn’t the future — it’s already here, sitting in your pocket, shaping your playlists, recommending your next TV show and even helping patients decide which pharmacy to trust. Still, if it feels a little overwhelming, you’re not alone. The good news is you don’t need to be a tech wizard to make AI work for your marketing. You just need a willingness to experiment and a clear view of what you want it to do.

At PCCA’s 2024 ThinkNext: International Seminar, Stacy Hightower, CPhT, FAPC, delivered a session that cut through the buzzwords and got down to brass tacks. Her talk — "A Practical Approach to AI and How I Use It" — wasn’t about theory or hype. It was about how you, working in the real world of your compounding pharmacy, can use AI to move faster, sound sharper and connect more meaningfully with your audience.

Let’s break it all down — practically, clearly and with a few laughs along the way.

AI Is Already in Your Life — and Your Patients’

You don’t have to “adopt” AI — you’ve already done it, whether you realize it or not. When your GPS reroutes traffic, Netflix lines up your next binge, Spotify tailors a playlist or your smart speaker reads off tomorrow’s weather, that’s AI in action. It’s invisible, seamless and baked into your daily experience.

Your patients live in the same AI-powered world. That means they expect personalization. They expect answers fast. And they expect your pharmacy — no matter your size — to deliver the kind of digital experience they’re used to getting from big brands. The good news? With a few AI tools and a thoughtful strategy, you can absolutely meet those expectations.

What AI Really Means (and Why It Matters to You)

Artificial intelligence isn’t a robot uprising — it’s just software that mimics human problem-solving. In marketing terms, it’s your turbo-charged assistant. Here’s how it works at a basic level:

1. Gathering data – pulling information from text, images, numbers, forms or activity logs
2. Cleaning and organizing – filtering out the noise and structuring it in a way machines can understand
3. Training a model – the AI learns patterns in the data using machine learning
4. Testing and refining – the system gets feedback and adjusts for better performance
5. Deploying in the real world – the AI starts doing what you trained it to do, whether that’s writing content, analyzing behavior or answering customer questions

For marketers, this means clearer insights, less time spent on repetitive tasks and faster content production — all without sacrificing strategy or personalization.

5 Ways AI Can Boost Your Pharmacy Marketing

You don’t need to invest in a massive software overhaul or hire a data science team. These are things you can do now, often with tools that are free or inexpensive.

1. Create better content — faster.

AI tools like ChatGPT can write first drafts of:

• Instagram or Facebook posts
• Emails to providers
• Educational blog content
• FAQs and product pages

It gives you a running start. You supply the context and tone, then fine-tune as needed. Think of it like a rough sketch you can paint over.

2. Predict what your audience wants — before they ask.

AI-driven analytics tools can help you:

• Forecast seasonal medication needs
• Identify trending compounds or formulations
• Tailor content and product offerings to patient or provider behavior

That means fewer stockouts, better-timed promotions and more personalized communications that actually land with customers.

3. Stop sending one-size-fits-all messages.

With AI, segmentation becomes way more manageable. You can group your audience by:

• Geographic region
• Age or gender
• Past purchasing behavior
• Preferred communication channels

Then, you can tailor messages to each group. It's the difference between shouting in a crowded room and having a one-on-one conversation.

4. Add a virtual assistant to your website.

An AI chatbot can:

• Answer frequently asked questions
• Help with refill requests
• Schedule consultations or follow-ups
• Guide patients to the right product or service

And it does it all without tying up your staff. It’s the silent employee who never sleeps.

5. Help people find you faster.

AI can help your website work harder for you, optimizing your web content by:

• Suggesting blog topics based on search data
• Writing meta descriptions and page titles
• Making sure your content includes relevant keywords without sounding robotic

It’s a faster route to visibility — especially when you’re competing for local attention.

Writing Prompts That Actually Work

In her presentation, Stacy emphasized this over and over: AI is only as good as your prompt.

It’s not magic — it’s about giving the system enough context, detail and direction to return something useful. Here’s what great prompts look like:

• Social post prompt: "Write a 100-word Instagram post for a compounding pharmacy introducing a new flavor option for pediatric antibiotics. Use a warm, friendly tone. End with a call to action."
• Provider email prompt: "Draft a concise email to health care providers about our new hormone replacement therapy services. Include benefits, compliance info and a link to learn more."
• Blog prompt: "Create an engaging 150-word blog intro on why customized thyroid medication is becoming popular among women over 40. Keep it informative and reassuring."

If the first response isn’t quite right, ask AI to give you some alternatives.

AI Tools Worth Your Time

Stacy’s presentation highlighted different ways to use the following AI tools to improve your marketing efforts:

• ChatGPT
• DALL·E
• Synthesia
• Canva (with AI features)

With each tool, she maintained a consistent refrain of advice: Remember, AI still needs you. Always review everything before publishing. Fact-check. Proofread. Tweak. Add your personality and expertise. You’re still the one driving the message.

Why Your Role Is More Essential Than Ever

AI doesn’t make marketers less necessary — it makes them more impactful. In the compounding pharmacy world, marketing isn’t just about promotions. It’s about:

• Educating patients and practitioners
• Communicating regulatory updates
• Personalizing messages without creeping people out
• Strengthening loyalty and long-term trust

AI helps scale those efforts. But strategy, empathy and personality? That’s all you.

As Stacy put it: "A marketer's efforts in education, promotion, market intelligence, customer experience, feedback analysis and compliance foster an environment where AI can significantly enhance the value and effectiveness of the marketer and compounding pharmacy."

Final Thought: Start Small. But Start.

AI can feel like a big leap, but it doesn’t have to be. Try one prompt. Run one campaign. Create one piece of content. Then, build from there.

Your competitors are experimenting, your patients are expecting better experiences and your team could use a little breathing room.

So jump in. Test. Learn. Adjust. Because when it feels scary to jump — that’s precisely when you jump.

Need a hand getting started? Make sure your pharmacy is represented at our first-ever Compounding Technician Summit, May 29-30 in Houston, to hear Stacy’s next presentation on AI — and so much more.