Lindsay Tjepkema is CEO and co-founder at Casted, the world’s first Amplified Marketing Platform.
As someone who values the importance of human connection in branding and has built a company based on that premise, I am simultaneously amazed and frustrated by generative AI’s potential. Like many who have recently used tools like ChatGPT for the first time, I’ve experienced its jaw-dropping ability to synthesize content, answer questions, curate resources—even write songs and poems. Despite some notable generative AI missteps, the technology is already being used to craft millions of lines’ worth of blog posts, sales emails, feature articles and countless other assets.
And why wouldn’t it? Marketing teams across many industries have been hit hard by layoffs and budget cuts. Even those whose positions (and budgets) have come through relatively intact are probably keeping a wary eye on the future and quietly brushing up their LinkedIn profiles.
Yet I believe that those who resist the temptation to go all-in on generative AI to produce more content en masse—and who, instead, champion their brands’ authentic voices—will be the winners when it comes to engaging with audiences in ways that truly matter, both now and long-term.
Under Pressure To Do More With Less
Marketing teams are facing pressures to create more everything—with fewer resources. B2B content marketers already spend 82% of their time creating content, leaving only a few hours for strategy and myriad other responsibilities. It’s no surprise marketers get excited when the allure of a free digital magic wand seems to fall into their laps.
But marketers are smart to resist the temptation. While generative AI might help them dig out of a hole in the short term and absolutely does offer some specific opportunities to help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively, the technology isn’t a magic, sustainable means to tell a brand’s story and build real relationships with customers.
Generative AI has the power to create vast amounts of content quickly, which sounds great to those aching to produce much-needed content and communications. That power also means it will add even more noise to an already crowded marketplace. It’s going to become harder and harder for brands to cut through the increasing clutter to reach their target audiences at all, let alone in a meaningful or personal way. As we look to tools like ChatGPT to do more and more, we risk losing sight of the ultimate goal: building trust and authentic human-to-human relationships.
Building human relationships is the ultimate purpose of any brand, regardless of what it sells. Companies that care about standing out and cutting through the noise must commit to creating meaningful connections with their audiences. That means using technology to inspire more relevant, rich and authentic content, not using it as a quick fix.
AI can never match the lived experience of a human expert or the passion shared through a real human voice. It can only synthesize information based on what already exists. As well as it summarizes and rephrases, close scrutiny tends to reveal dangerous cracks in the surface. The content is too repetitive, too vanilla and just a little too robotic. It’s not a recipe for messaging that resonates.
Building And Keeping Consumers’ Trust
Many consumers are generally skeptical of AI-generated content, and it’s understandable. If consumers discover content is machine-generated, they may feel misled. However, there are ways in which AI tools like ChatGPT can be used responsibly and effectively. Marketers who stay informed about these tools and use them to support their content strategy can speed up their processes.
To maintain and even build trust, start thinking now about how you will disclose to your audience the level of involvement AI had in the creation of each piece of content. Was that highly technical product documentation fully created with AI to quickly and accurately serve the customer? Say so. Was a blog post started as a prompt in ChatGPT to reveal the content most likely to resonate with the audience and then heavily edited by a human for accuracy and alignment with the brand? Say so. Was the podcast host inspired by ideas drawn from recommendations provided by AI? Again, say so. The brands that get ahead of this healthy skepticism with transparency early on are more likely to be rewarded with trust and loyalty going forward.
ChatGPT can direct us to new resources, topics for discussion, questions worth asking and more. As a thought starter or brainstorming partner, generative AI is a great tool. The three, five or 50 answers generated from a particular prompt might be the catalyst for your next great idea—one that’s unique to you and your brand and reinforces the audience’s trust in you.
The Most Human Brands Win
I’ve always said that the most human brands win, and I believe this will continue to be true. One can imagine what tools and browser extensions will become available to help already wary consumers spot AI content in the future. Will they keep reading? Will they ignore it? Is taking the risk worth it to marketers?
I’d argue it isn’t. Communicating is at the heart of what we do, and every day, there are unique and insightful conversations happening about and within the industries we serve.
The focus of marketers’ final, published efforts should always be on building human connection. Podcasts and videos, for example, offer unique opportunities for audiences to feel like they are part of the conversation, and this is something that machines can’t match or produce without the real thoughts and voices of humans.
Even if you aren’t publishing those peer-to-peer or host-to-expert conversations today, there are few hurdles to starting. Amplifying those conversations across web, email, social and other channels resonates in ways that superficial, synthetic content is unlikely to ever achieve.
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