AI in Marketing:  How to Keep Control of Your Work

The tool of our time moves fast.  How do we make sure our judgment keeps up?

During my high school newspaper class, I learned an old-school journalism maxim: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”  It’s a memorable reminder to verify all information, even if it comes from someone you trust and seems obviously true.  But what happens when Mom overwhelms you with 100 polished and highly convincing reasons in less than five seconds? Where does the fact check even begin? Should you just go with it?

My day job requires strict adherence to artificial intelligence protocols, and AI does not write my journalism content.  But outside of work, I have been experimenting with it much more freely to better understand how it is transforming professional business workflows, such as marketing. At first, its impressive, high-speed performance reminded me of a Ferrari.

But as I got deeper into creating a hypothetical marketing plan with the help of AI, I began to feel like I was on an old-fashioned stagecoach with runaway horses.

How do you regain control once the horses are galloping wildly at their own pace?  

I decided to reach out via electronic messaging to professionals at different stages of their careers to get their take on AI and how to not lose one’s own judgment while using this revolutionary tool. I started with Todd Haderlie, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of North Florida.  He has co-authored research on Emotional AI.

“Creativity needs room for ideas that are unfinished, uncertain, and sometimes outright failures. Use that first answer to ask another question, check the evidence behind an important claim, or explore what customers might need that the response has overlooked. Give yourself permission to test a simple idea and learn from what happens, because a failed attempt can reveal a direction that a convincing AI paragraph never could.”

Professor Haderlie’s response really resonated with me. I am an external thinker and miss the days of loud newsrooms where journalists tossed around ideas for feedback. Working remotely has a lot of efficiency advantages, but I value the regular in-person brainstorming that helps inspire new thoughts, ideas and creativity. AI is a good remedy for more isolated work, like my personal marketing plan project, since I can use it as a sounding board that inspires me and helps me move my ideas forward at lightning speed.  It also helps me find facts and reliable sources quickly to prove or disprove my ideas.  

But I’ve also learned that this sounding board and idea organization stage is where the horses can begin to gallop a bit too fast and it’s where I need to hold the reins a bit tighter. Jeannette Vigil, Social Media Director at Beber Silverstein Group, emphasizes that marketers remain accountable for their work when using AI.

“AI adoption is growing fast across our industry, but the more we rely on it, the more important it is to remember that we still own the work,” Vigil explained.

“Seasoned marketers can usually spot when something feels off, like a number that seems too high or a strategy that wouldn’t land with the target audience,” Vigil added. “Someone just starting out might not have that experience yet, so a confident answer can easily read like the right one. That’s why we should treat AI output as a starting point. Ask for sources, references, double-check the data, and push back by asking for the reasoning behind a recommendation. The level of scrutiny should also match the stakes. A simple caption or video idea might just need a gut check, but anything sensitive or tied to a brand’s reputation needs much more rigorous verification.”

Vigil makes an excellent point about the stakes involved.  Clients and stakeholders count on marketers to do our due diligence, which is why the response from Ryan Garcia-Caraballo, Senior Marketing Manager at Silversea Cruises, struck a chord.

“I always tell my team, especially the younger members, that AI is their friend,” Garcia-Caraballo wrote me. “I do caveat that by explaining that, before asking AI to draft something, you need to clearly articulate exactly what you’re trying to say. That way, you can fully understand and take ownership of the output, rather than simply accepting AI-generated slop. Early in their careers, it can also be difficult to distinguish between what merely ‘sounds good’ in AI-generated language and what is actually rooted in reality, sound judgment, and substance rather than polished fluff. In short, they should always question AIs output and make sure it’s sound before leveraging it.”

In my own personal extra-curricular exploration with artificial intelligence, I’ve experienced how it can go faster than I can keep up, while injecting a lot of affirmation for untested ideas. It’s tempting to say yes, especially when tired or feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information. But this is precisely why we can’t let our guard down. Just because AI loves our ideas and makes results sound legit, it doesn’t mean we don’t check them out.

Joseph El Hage, Vice President of Digital Sales at TelevisaUnivision, points to clear strategy and KPIs (key performance indicators) as a way to guide AI toward a campaign’s objectives.

“My thoughts is that AI is directional and AI is trained to answer what is best for the general situation,” wrote El Hage in a text message. “However, I believe it all starts with the right prompt, setting up clear KPIs and strategy to deliver the final objective of the marketing campaign/solution etc. By aligning those naturally, AI will deliver the correct, best direction. Ultimately, KPIs do not change, and AI will be bound to deliver an answer based on those KPIs, if prompted correctly by the marketer.” 

Heather LeVine, Marketing Director at HL Digital Marketing Agency, adds that an idea has to make sense to the people we’re trying to reach.

“Question assumptions, verify what you can, and test what you can’t,” Levine wrote. “When there are too many possible directions, I always come back to the objective, the audience, and the brand: What are we trying to accomplish? Who are we trying to reach? And does this idea actually make sense for them? Especially early in your career, you won’t always know the ‘right’ answer and sometimes the best way to find it is to make an informed decision, see how people respond, and be willing to adjust.”

All this helps me understand my experience with my hypothetical marketing plan and the real-life challenges professionals are facing as they adapt to artificial intelligence. It’s easy to think that AI has all the answers. But we still need to hold the reins. Even the latest tool leaves plenty of room for humans to make mistakes.

For me, AI can help make brainstorming, exploration and research incredibly efficient. I’m finding value in having a sounding board that helps me stretch my thinking and move my thoughts forward.

Sometimes, however, I need to bring the horses to a stop and give myself time to decide which ideas to pursue and what needs checking.

Which brings me back to Mom and her 100 polished reasons why she loves me.  Her speed and enthusiasm don’t relieve me of the responsibility to check out her assertions.  The same goes for my results produced with AI, despite its flattering affirmation of my progress.  AI is a tool. The decisions and responsibility remain mine.