Why does every conversation about AI seem to come with a Marmite hot take? It’s either “AI is everything” or “AI is dangerous and useless.” Honestly, it’s a bit weird.
The smartest marketers I know don’t subscribe to extremes. They’re not blindly pro-AI or anti-AI – just like they’re not blindly pro or anti anything. What they are is intentional. They’ve figured out where their team sits on the AI adoption spectrum – and they’ve chosen that spot deliberately.
At one end of the spectrum, AI is everywhere. Teams automate, optimise, generate, and repurpose at scale. It’s fast, efficient and often repeatable.
At the other end, AI is absent. Some marketers go deep without it – protecting quality, leaning into relationships, and taking a more human-first approach. Sometimes that’s due to overwhelm, ethical concerns, or a belief that they can simply do better without it.
But most high-performing teams? They sit somewhere in between. And what separates them isn’t how much AI they use – it’s how consciously they use it.
They’ve worked out:
Where AI saves time vs. where it kills quality. Not every blog post needs a bot. Not every strategy needs a human.
Which stages benefit most. Research, summarising and structuring are low-hanging fruit. But brand storytelling or product naming? That’s a human moment.
When to push the tech – and when to push back. Sometimes AI helps you break through. Other times it helps you hide.
If you don’t know where you are on the spectrum – or why – you’re probably being pulled by the tools instead of leading with intent.
Great marketers don’t just use AI. They integrate it with purpose.