The human touch: Where AI hands the baton to authentic messaging
AI (artificial intelligence) is everywhere in marketing today—both in the mundane tasks and ever-infiltrating the creative. While AI can streamline workflows and spark ideas, it can’t replace one critical ingredient: the human touch. Authentic messaging is what separates a brand that blends in from a brand that truly connects.
What AI Does Well
Artificial intelligence is a powerful assistant for marketers. A few areas AI excels:
Speed and efficiency: Generating drafts, brainstorming headlines, or analyzing data quickly.
Repetition and scale: Managing bulk tasks like product descriptions or email segmentation.
Pattern recognition: Spotting trends in consumer behavior that might be easy to miss.
AI can speed up and simplify the “what” and “how” for you, but it struggles with the “why.” Digging deeper and understanding the causation of trends and unique decisions is sometimes best handled by a real person. We have the ability to keep people at the center (practicing empathy), and to reference personal connections and relationships that may have influenced data.
The Limits of AI in Messaging
AI can mimic human language, but it often misses the nuances of emotion, cultural context, and lived experience. To call out a few obvious limitations:
Using a generic voice: Outputs can sound polished but lack personality.
Context gaps: AI may misinterpret tone or cultural cues.
Emotional depth: True empathy and vulnerability come from human experience, not algorithms.
One important thing to remember is that trends in AI, especially algorithms, are always on the move. As a communicator, you will be chasing a moving target if you solely rely on AI to guide your strategy.
Further, while the popularity of trends is helpful when used the right way, your customers want to hear from you. The loyalty your brand needs to stand the the test of time is built by harnessing your unique connection to them.
Why Authentic Messaging Matters
Authenticity builds connection in ways AI alone is not able.
Building trust: Customers can tell when messaging feels forced or robotic.
Relatability: Stories from real humans create bonds (for more on this topic, read this blog post.
Differentiation: In a world of automated sameness, authenticity will stand out.
People don’t just buy products —they attach and buy into stories, values, and relationships.
Striking the Balance between AI and Human Creativity
The best approach isn’t just AI or human—it’s a combination. The more familiar you become with AI tools, the easier it will become for you to find how they can blend, and how you can use AI as a powerful supplement to the good thing you have going.
Let AI handle the grunt work: Use it to brainstorm, structure, or edit.
Add your voice: Infuse brand personality, humor, and cultural relevance.
Lead with empathy: Share real stories, customer experiences, and genuine insights.
Edit for nuance: Review AI outputs through a human lens to help bridge the gaps.
AI is a valuable partner, but it’s not the storyteller. The most impactful marketing still requires empathy, lived experience, and authenticity. When brands combine the efficiency of AI with the human touch of real connection, they strike the balance that wins hearts—and sales.
