AI is a disruptor. So is imagination.

President of Bader Rutter, David Jordan shares his thoughts on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its role in B2B Marketing. As AI and machine learning continue to revolutionise the marketing industry, many agencies are left wondering about the future of creativity. In this article, we explore the potential of AI in marketing agencies, how it can complement human creativity, and how it can help identify new growth opportunities. 

The establishment-shattering impact of AI and machine learning inspires widespread hand-wringing at marketing agencies. While the idea of outsourcing intelligence through automation can be intimidating, there’s no denying these technologies’ potential. With the ability to handle organisational tasks, mimic writing tasks, and even generate simple content, it’s easy to see why many see AI as an intrusion into the sacrosanct territory of imagination and creativity.

But is it really?

Yes, ChatGPT and similar software can handle a lot of organizational chores. They can mimic common writing tasks with breathtaking speed and efficiency, take and organize meeting notes, assemble research and generate simple content. So, will that mean agencies will be outsourcing intelligence?

Not by a long shot. An agency’s value to marketers doesn’t lie in the workmanlike transformation of information into minimum viable products. We create value by generating new and engaging ideas that create intrigue around brands.

There is no creative algorithm. At least not yet.

AI generates images and copy without originality, just highly sophisticated imitation and assembly. That is more than enough, for it takes over many common creative tasks, and costs being what they are, we can expect it to dominate that space for years to come.

But brand voices are too nuanced, and context is too important to entrust to automated platforms reliant on web-based datasets and accurate tagging. AI can be a valuable tool, but it is still limited by the quality of the input data it relies on. Much of the content that forms the machine learning analysis diet is garbage – that’s the downside of a participatory web. That’s why context is important – tagging accuracy is critical for accurate data analysis. It’s also why the technical report accompanying GPT-4’s release includes a warning that the program still has a high capacity for “hallucinations” – outright false statements. Yikes.

That being said, it is important to note that AI has come a long way in recent years. Marketing agencies must embrace AI and its massive potential as a tool to benefit their clients. It can accumulate, sort and organize information with unmatched efficiency.

See Also: 3 ways for content creators to use AI

But we should also apply the time saved by that efficiency to doubling down on the human creativity that captures the hearts, minds, and sales of brand audiences.

Technology will create endless new opportunities for brands to leverage, filling in gaps, combing for trends, and expanding their presence as new opportunities arise.

That is AI’s greatest promise to marketers. By automating tasks and extending the reach of brands across an endless sea of platforms and touchpoints, AI frees marketers and agencies alike to invest their time in imagining ideas and programs that will capture their customers’ attention. It can free us to exercise our critical thinking and unfettered imaginations to pursue the new, the exciting, and the ‘never-before’ that make brands grow.

By embracing AI and combining it with human creativity, agencies can create a powerful force capable of generating engaging content that captures brand audiences’ hearts, minds, and sales.

That is exactly why we need AI. 

About the author As president of Bader Rutter, David Jordan focuses on driving meaningful business results for clients. David pioneered creating the B2B2C agency practice and built an in-house team of consultants to develop business strategies that grow brands and demonstrate marketing performance.