The idea of just pushing a button and out pops finished work is why people think AI sucks.
Would you pitch a print campaign by saying, “Let’s use Photoshop”? Of course not. So if your idea is just “we’ll use AI,” you don’t actually have an idea.
From the forgettable clutter on your Instagram feed to big-budget productions like the Coke Christmas 2024 ad or that Toys”R”Us spot about its founder, nothing works without a solid creative idea behind it. AI isn’t a magic shortcut; it’s just another tool—and it needs human direction to matter.
Human-led AI means that human experts integrate AI into their process, not the other way around. A great copywriter can pull coherent content from Claude, just like a skilled designer can refine AI-generated visuals into something extraordinary. beaus to be clear, AI isn’t a “put words-in, get brilliance-out” sort of deal. Anyone selling you that fantasy just wants your money.
AI shouldn’t be used as a shortcut to churn out meaningless content. It’s a powerful tool that, when guided by your creativity, can help you get things done faster. AI can also help push your work further, working as a fun-house mirror for your thoughts and reflecting them back in new configurations that are sometimes even better than the original.
Start With Purpose
Your brief is everything. What you put in determines what you get out. Define your goal clearly, and understand your tool’s capabilities to recognize when it’s hit (or missed) the mark.
Maintain Quality
Great ideas don’t always translate to great results. AI is like a hyper-enthusiastic intern—it’ll bring you stuff, but you’ll have to sort through it. Expect to refine outputs, tweak ideas, and sometimes pivot entirely. Your standards, not the tool’s, set the bar.
Ensure Brand Authenticity
You’re the expert on your brand’s voice and values. Even with well-trained models, it’ll take rounds of revisions to nail something that feels human and authentic. AI can help amplify your voice, but it can’t replace it—no matter how well it spell-checks.
Be Transparent
If AI played a role in your process, say so. Because nobody likes a wizard behind the curtain, especially if that wizard is ChatGPT. Honesty fosters trust and makes your work more relatable.
Focus on Connection
AI excels at patterns, but you’re the one with emotional intelligence. Your role is to ensure outputs resonate—feeling purposeful, human, and alive. You’ve got the insight into what actually moves people; use it to make sure the final result is something that feels human, not “human”.
As it gets easier to churn out generic, AI-generate-it-and-forget-it content, plenty of people (shockingly!) are taking full advantage. Content farms, shady agencies, and self-proclaimed “marketing experts” are flooding Google and Meta with mediocre work—stuff created to game rankings, not to connect. When humans aren’t involved beyond typing a few prompts and slapping the results online, quality inevitably takes a nosedive.
That’s why it matters more than ever to do it the right way, like you always do. Create work that stands out, connects with purpose, and avoids the trap of empty words and visuals. Generative AI can amplify your creativity, helping you nail ideas faster and more precisely—which is awesome
Ok, so remember: AI is just another tool in your toolbox. And like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it. Stay in control, know where you want to go, and the results will be memorable for all the right reasons—more human, more connected, and exactly what your audience is looking for.