AI vs Us

Hey!

We’re drowning in AI hype: everyone’s turning their selfies into Ghibli fan art, and every startup slaps “powered by AI” on a pitch deck of a new product. But cut the noise, and you’ll see the real game-changer: AI isn’t just a novelty - it’s rewriting how we think, craft, and deliver campaigns.

The Next Three Years: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We’ve got YouTube “gurus” claiming you can ditch a $10K agency for $100 in AI tools.

Spoiler: it’s not even worth $1K yet. But guess what? AI is getting there - fast. Small businesses will flirt with replacing human “gurus” with cheaper AI because:

Media Buying Is on Autopilot

Google, Meta, and Taboola already push AI-driven targeting. Human input? Mostly an uploaded image now and then.

AI can generate that image, too. Platforms even suggest ten ad-copy options at the click of a button. Why pay someone just to press “publish”?

Creative Work Is Becoming a Commodity

Copywriters? AI’s spitting out hundreds of variants before you finish your coffee. Yes, it’s basic. But for social posts or SEO filler? “Basic” is good enough.

Designers? AI can mock up visuals instantly. “Junior” roles that once fed on grunt work? AI is eating that lunch.

Account Management Is Becoming a Script

Email to email, AI to AI - it’s becoming a script. ChatGPT can mirror your tone, handle 80% of your inbox, and prioritize tasks without breaking a sweat. It’s a time-saver, no doubt - but here’s the catch: building real relationships still needs a human face, not just a bot reply. AI can keep the trains running, but genuine connection? That’s still on you.

Strategy Is One Framework Away from Automation

Give ChatGPT a solid framework, and it can churn out strategies that rival top-tier professionals. Why? Because it sifts through logic at warp speed, finding patterns most humans overlook.

But remember: data without intuition is half-baked. The magic spark still comes from a human who sees beyond the spreadsheet.

AI Doesn’t Complain

TV, OOH, digital - channel owners love any tech that’s cheaper, faster, and quieter than humans. Agencies will follow.

If your job is a data-in, cost-out assembly line, you’re toast.

Where Humans Still Matter

If AI handles the grunt work - drafting copy, populating dashboards - what’s left for us? Plenty.

Think of yourself as a conductor. AI can spit out an endless stream of ideas, but it’s up to you to decide which ones resonate. That final call - the spark that says “This is it” - belongs to the human mind.

Here’s the trick to thriving in an AI-saturated world: double down on what machines can’t replace. Emotional intelligence. Empathy. Relationship-building. Contextual understanding.

AI can connect the dots, but it can’t feel the pain points that matter. It can serve up logical insights, but it won’t automatically grasp the cultural nuances that make or break a campaign. Sure, let AI handle the heavy lifting. But keep the driver’s seat for yourself. That’s how you make the AI outputs sing - and how you stay indispensable.

The Hard Truth

AI started by automating “smart” tasks - writing, designing, strategising—long before it targeted manual labor. 

That means interns, assistants, junior staff? They’re looking at a shaky future if they don’t upskill. Hierarchies built on cheap, repetitive tasks? Prepare for a demolition.

Lean In—or Get Left Behind

• If you’re a copywriter, your value isn’t 1,000 lines of fluff—it’s knowing which line sparks action.

• If you’re a designer, it’s not about pixel-pushing—it’s having the eye for what stands out.

• If you’re a strategist, your gold is insight AI can’t replicate (yet).

Embrace the Why

Don’t cling to the mundane tasks - hand them over to AI. Double down on the very thing machines can’t fully replicate: understanding people. Emotions, motivations, cultural shifts—those are still in our wheelhouse.

Sure, some roles will vanish. The future looks scary. But if you want to stay in the game, go beyond the grunt work. Let machines handle the chores - your job is the spark, the why behind it all.

• Remember when we had to find a person just to learn something new?

• Then libraries amassed all that knowledge.

• Wikipedia blew up the old-school library model.

• Google turned learning into an instant search.

• YouTube tutorials and TikTok how-tos made “show me how” a swipe away.

• Now we ask ChatGPT.

Jobs aren’t disappearing; they’re evolving - just like everything else.

Until next time,
Marti