AI is Only as Good as the Marketer Behind It

Is AI about to make the marketing world "more exciting" or "super dull"? That's the provocative question at the heart of a recent conversation between Copy.AI's Nathan Thompson and Ryane Bohm. As Head of Content Strategy and Head of Product Marketing respectively, they're uniquely positioned to weigh in on the impact of artificial intelligence on the creative process.

Their verdict? The outcome depends entirely on the marketer.

In this thought-provoking discussion, Nathan and Ryane argue that AI is not a replacement for human creativity, but a powerful tool to augment it—if you know how to use it properly. They dive into the biggest mistake marketers make when adopting AI, share a practical framework for "training" the technology to produce high-quality, on-brand content, and offer a glimpse into a future where hyper-personalized digital experiences are the norm.

But beyond the tactical advice, they also grapple with the deeper ethical questions surrounding AI. Whose responsibility is it to ensure this tech is used responsibly? The answer, they suggest, lies not with the tools themselves, but with the humans wielding them.

The Biggest Mistake Marketers Make with AI: Outsourcing Your Thinking

The main failure of AI in content creation isn't the tool's fault. It happens when marketers use it to bypass the creative process entirely. As Nathan Thompson, Head of Content Strategy at Copy.ai, points out, "I think the biggest problem is when you see somebody outsource their thinking to AI."

The real power lies in using AI to accelerate and expand on an original human thought.

The difference between a vague prompt like "Write a LinkedIn post about AI" and a specific, thought-driven prompt that leads to a unique output is crucial. The former will likely result in generic, unoriginal content that fails to capture your brand's voice or perspective. However, when you approach AI with a clear creative vision and use it as a tool to flesh out and refine your ideas, the results can be truly remarkable. "There's the other one though," Nathan adds, "where it's 'I have this really creative thought and I don't want it to just sit and do nothing. I need this tool to get me there faster.'"

The Human-in-the-Loop Framework: How to Get Great Results from AI

Getting high-quality, on-brand content from AI requires a three-step process: training, prompting, and editing. You must first teach the AI your voice, then provide detailed context in your prompts, and finally, treat the output as a first draft that you refine.

Ryane Bohm, Head of Product Marketing at Copy.ai, explains, "On that front, even before the prompt, is how I like to train it up. Here's stuff that is my voice, my LinkedIn posts, blogs that I have authored. That's honestly like even before you get to the bread slice."

Feeding the AI examples of your past work, from blog posts to transcripts, helps it learn your unique tone and style before ever asking it to generate new content.

Once your AI is "trained," getting great results depends on the prompting stage. Rather than outsourcing your thinking with vague requests, provide the AI with as much context as possible. T

his might include details about your target audience, the purpose of the content, key talking points, and any specific examples or anecdotes you want to include. The more thought and detail you put into your prompt, the more relevant and on-brand the output will be.

It's important to remember that the AI's output is just a starting point.

As Nathan puts it, "I have this really creative thought and I don't want it to just sit and do nothing but I don't have the eight hours to flesh it out by hand and so I need this tool to get me there faster." Treat the generated content as a first draft that you then edit, refine, and enhance with your human perspective and expertise.

The Future of Content: Hyper-Personalization and Human-First Media

As AI continues to advance, it will usher in a new era of hyper-personalization, where digital experiences are tailored to the individual user, much like the Amazon experience.

Ryane envisions a future where "I want to log into a website and it's just about me. It's my site because it knows what I have done and it is hyper-personalized to an extreme."

A B2B website could dynamically change its messaging and case studies based on a visitor's industry or known pain points. A content hub might serve up articles and videos perfectly matched to a user's role, challenges, and stage in the buyer's journey. AI will make this level of personalization not only possible, but scalable.

At the same time, the efficiency gains from AI will free up marketers to focus on more human-centric media like video and audio to build genuine connections with their audience. As Nathan predicts, "I think we're gonna see the idea of text purposefully shift to what you create to source algorithms and video and audio to be what you do to source people."

With AI handling the heavy lifting of content creation and personalization, marketers will have the bandwidth to invest in authentic, engaging formats that foster real relationships. We'll see a rise in original video series, podcasts, and interactive experiences that showcase the human faces and voices behind the brand.

The rise of AI in content marketing is not a threat to human creativity, but an opportunity to enhance it.

By understanding how to properly "train" these tools on our unique voice and provide them with detailed, context-rich prompts, we can harness their power to generate high-quality first drafts at scale, freeing us up to focus on the higher-level strategy and refinement that only a human touch can provide.

But with this opportunity comes responsibility. As Nathan pointedly reminds us, "The ethics question is not an AI question. The ethics question is a human one."

It's up to us as marketers to use these tools in a way that is transparent, authentic, and aligned with our brand values. We must resist the temptation to simply outsource our thinking to the algorithms, and instead view AI as a partner in the creative process—one that can accelerate and expand our ideas, but never replace our fundamental role as the strategists and storytellers behind the content.

In the end, the future of marketing belongs to those who can strike the right balance between the efficiency of artificial intelligence and the empathy of human judgment.

By embracing the "human-in-the-loop" approach advocated by Nathan and Ryane, we can create a new era of content that is both hyper-personalized and deeply personal, data-driven and emotionally resonant.

The machines aren't taking over; they're inviting us to be more human than ever before.

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FAQ

1. What is the biggest mistake marketers make when using AI in their campaigns?

The most common mistake is using AI to completely bypass the creative process instead of leveraging it to enhance human creativity and original thinking.

2. What is the "human-in-the-loop" framework for AI content creation?

Successful AI content creation involves a three-step process: training the AI on your brand voice, providing detailed context in the prompts, and treating the AI output as a first draft that needs to be refined by a human.

3. How can marketers train an AI on their brand voice before using it for content creation?

One effective way to train an AI on your brand voice is by feeding it content you've authored, such as your LinkedIn posts and blog articles. This helps the AI learn your unique style and tone.

4. What level of content personalization will AI enable in the future?

AI has the potential to enable unprecedented personalization of digital experiences, similar to how Amazon provides individualized recommendations. Users may one day log into a website that is completely customized to their interests and past behavior.

5. How will AI impact the role of marketers in the future?

Rather than replacing marketers, AI will free them up to focus more on creating human-centric content formats like video and audio that build genuine connections with audiences. Text content will increasingly serve to feed algorithms.

6. Should AI be viewed as a replacement for human creativity in marketing?

No, AI should be viewed as a tool to accelerate and expand human creativity rather than replace it entirely. The responsibility for using AI ethically ultimately rests with the human marketers in charge.

7. How will content strategy evolve as AI becomes more prevalent?

As AI advances, we'll likely see text content shift more towards serving as input for algorithms, while video and audio content will be leveraged to build authentic human connections with audiences.

8. What are some ways AI can enhance rather than replace human creativity?

AI can help generate ideas, provide inspiration, and handle mundane tasks, allowing human marketers to focus their creative energies on higher-level strategy and crafting emotionally resonant content.

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