September 19, 2024

Debunking the AI easy button: Why human expertise still matters

Chip LaFleur · 6 minute read

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing has sparked a wave of excitement—and, unfortunately, misconceptions. Many decision-makers are lured by the idea that AI can act as an “easy button” to solve their marketing challenges quickly and with little human oversight. But, as with many things that seem too good to be true, the reality is much more nuanced.

AI is revolutionizing content creation, data analysis, and strategy ideation. But relying on it as a one-size-fits-all solution can (and will) backfire. In this post, we’ll debunk the most common myths surrounding AI in marketing and explain why human expertise remains essential to making the most of these powerful tools.

Myth #1: AI can replace entire marketing teams

It’s tempting to think that AI can do the job of an entire marketing team. After all, it’s capable of generating copy, designing visuals, and even analyzing data at lightning speed. However, this perception oversimplifies what AI can (and can’t) do. AI lacks the empathy, creativity, and deep contextual understanding that human marketers bring to the table.

A helpful way to think about AI is as a helpful psychopath. It excels at processing and optimizing based on data, but doesn’t understand the emotional nuances or ethical implications that often shape effective marketing campaigns. AI is highly efficient, but it shouldn’t be making final decisions for your brand.

Reality: AI is a powerful tool, but it works best when integrated into a team of subject matter experts who provide oversight, ensure compliance, and guide creativity. Human leadership (and creativity) remain essential to leveraging AI for long-term success.

Myth #2: AI instantly solves all marketing problems

Another common misconception is that AI offers a quick fix to every marketing challenge. Some executives expect AI to provide immediate results, improving ROI overnight without much human input. However, this approach overlooks how AI systems rely heavily on past data and can only offer insights based on historical patterns.

AI is backward-looking by nature. While it can analyze massive datasets and identify trends, it doesn’t have the foresight to predict future challenges or adapt to new, unforeseen market dynamics.

Reality: AI requires a solid data foundation and ongoing human supervision to deliver meaningful results. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it solution but rather a strategic partner that complements human judgment and insight. Building efficiencies and improving ROI with AI takes time and effort, and immediate results are rare.

Myth #3: AI knows everything

One of the most dangerous myths about AI is that its algorithms are all-knowing. With access to vast amounts of data, it can sometimes feel like AI has the answer to everything. But this belief is misguided. AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on, and they can often propagate biases or misunderstand context in ways humans wouldn’t.

Consider the concept of “botshit”—inaccurate, made-up information AI systems generate without proper context or factual accuracy. As humans, we bring the emotional intelligence and ethical considerations necessary to filter out this botshit and ensure our campaigns remain aligned with brand values.

Reality: AI is fallible and prone to errors, especially when it comes to nuanced or emotionally charged situations. Human oversight of AI-generated output is crucial for catching biases, inaccuracies, and other potential pitfalls.

Myth #4: AI automatically improves ROI

Many organizations invest in AI expecting it will immediately increase efficiency, lower costs, and boost ROI. While AI can help improve these metrics over time, expecting instant results is unrealistic. AI requires proper configuration, robust data architectures, and, most importantly, human operators who understand how to use it effectively.

Reality: AI can deliver impressive ROI, but it takes work to get there. Marketers need to build a strong data infrastructure, continuously train AI systems, and interpret AI-generated insights within the context of the brand’s goals and customer needs. Simply deploying AI without a strategy won’t yield immediate success.

Myth #5: AI is Only for Routine Tasks

There’s a persistent belief that AI is only useful for automating simple, repetitive tasks, like data entry or routine report generation. This drastically underestimates AI’s potential as a strategic partner in marketing. AI can help creative teams push beyond their comfort zones by generating unexpected insights, facilitating creative ideation, and even helping to upskill team members.

Reality: AI is far more than a routine-task manager. It can offer unique perspectives on creative problems, uncover innovative solutions, and help less-experienced team members think like seasoned professionals. In short, AI can foster creativity and strategic thinking, making it an invaluable asset in both tactical and high-level marketing functions.

You’re better at marketing than our AI overlords

While AI provides immense value, it still requires human expertise to unlock its full potential. AI can automate processes, but humans are needed to ask the right questions, interpret findings, and shape insights into meaningful, actionable strategies.

Our job as marketing leaders is to:

Model a human-centered implementation of artificial intelligence

Give our teams the tools (and training) they need to make the most out of AI

Make sure these solutions make work life better, not just more profitable

Human marketers are the ones who guide AI models, ask probing questions and interpret the results in a way that aligns with our brands’ overarching goals. AI cannot lead the conversation. Humans use AI as a tool to enhance our own decision-making and creativity.

AI: Your strategic marketing partner

So, how do we harness these little psychopaths for our own benefit? The answers go far beyond content and image creation.

Ask lots of crazy questions to AI

Have you ever been in a whiteboarding session when a terrible idea sparks a conversation that leads to a game-changing insight? I know I have. But have you also felt the urge to NOT ask a question or float an idea because it seems out of the ordinary or wrong?

AI helps us get over our self-consciousness.

In a Harvard Business Review article, researchers Hal Gregersen and Nicola Morini Bianzino demonstrated how AI encourages people to ask more creative and unorthodox questions—questions they might hesitate to ask their peers. And it’s not just the novelty of the questions; working with AI also increases our questions’ velocity and variety.

This ability to challenge the status quo is one of AI’s greatest strengths, but it works best when paired with human oversight. Our agency has benefited from many AI-supported ugly first drafts and answers to our seemingly stupid questions.

Combat expertise bias

Old habits die hard. Subject matter experts have a well-documented habit of falling for industry myths and preferring our theories and recommendations over those of others. AI can help you fight your expertise and cognitive bias.

That’s because AI doesn’t just increase the novelty, velocity, and variety of your questions. The technology also encourages us to reconsider our entrenched opinions and biases.

Gregersen and Morini Bianzino comment:

AI can take [people] out of their usual mode of operation and force them to cede control over where their questions will take them… [It] facilitates recognizing where you’re intellectually wrong, and becoming emotionally uncomfortable, and behaviorally quiet — the very conditions that, we’ve found, tend to produce game-changing lines of inquiry.

However, we must also be diligent. Look out for botshit, those convincing half-truths and hallucinations that AI is notorious for. As the responsible human in the room, you need to trust yet verify AI’s recommendations and insights.

Making sense of your data

When a client asks why your team has selected a specific color palette or narrative, how do you answer? Do you give them insight into the competitive advantage associated with your choices? Or do you tell them that your creative team really just liked how it looked or felt?

I believe that marketers are more successful when we rely on quantitative data rather than our gut instincts. However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by marketing data—and there’s an increasing amount of junk data out there.

AI can help cut through the noise. We’ve developed an AI-powered marketing analytics dashboard that offers several benefits:

It pulls data from multiple platforms into a data warehouse, letting both your team and the AI connect the dots between disparate data sources.

AI creates efficiencies, turning what could have been weeks of analysis into a couple of days.

An AI agent answers natural language questions, both sparking curiosity and helping make sense of sometimes intimidating information.

Our dashboards are used by both our teams and our clients, democratizing data and encouraging more robust conversations about marketing strategies.

When paired with human expertise, AI and data dashboards can drive growth through better optimized campaigns, improved customer targeting and archetypes, and more informed, data-driven strategies. Tools like our dashboards let teams scale their efforts and achieve long-term success.

There’s no easy button, but there’s a smarter way forward with LaFleur

While AI is an incredible tool, it is not the “easy button” that many hope for. It offers immense value in terms of efficiency and creativity, but only when paired with human expertise and oversight. AI can enhance decision-making, foster creativity, and improve business outcomes, but it requires a thoughtful, strategic approach.

If you’re ready to explore how AI can transform your marketing efforts without falling for the myths, s chedule a demo or book a workshop or call with LaFleur Marketing today. We’ll show you how to integrate AI into your marketing operations and achieve your goals.

Resources

Gregersen, H. and Morini Bianzino, N. (2023, May 26). AI Can Help You Ask Better Questions — and Solve Bigger Problems. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2023/05/ai-can-help-you-ask-better-questions-and-solve-bigger-problems