AI’s Struggle to Be Cool: Why It Falls Short
▼ Summary
– HubSpot marketers found success by using AI for simple, specific tasks like creating custom GPTs and summarizing meetings, rather than overthinking its experimental applications.
– The search marketing community adapted to AI by developing new tools and processes for AI visibility, moving past initial uncertainty to establish scalable AEO (AI Engine Optimization) tactics.
– A significant productivity gain came from shifting from seeking predefined playbooks to adopting a problem-solving mindset for each new challenge.
– Regular, brief team education sessions on AI developments empowered marketers, reducing anxiety and improving daily efficiency and creative collaboration.
– Marketers learned that AI enhances the value of human creativity and strategic judgment in content creation, and that not all effective brand-building activities can be directly measured.
Looking back on the year, many marketing professionals found that their biggest successes came from simplifying their approach to new technology rather than overcomplicating it. The real wins have come from keeping it simple, focusing on practical applications that enhance daily workflows instead of chasing experimental and inconsistent use cases. This shift in mindset allowed teams to become more productive and organized, turning small adjustments into significant gains in efficiency and output.
Adam Biddlecombe, a lead marketer and AI media strategist, reflected that he would tell his past self to stop overthinking artificial intelligence. He acknowledges the technology’s transformative potential but emphasizes that consistent accuracy remains a challenge. His productivity soared by concentrating on minor tasks, such as creating custom GPTs for specific jobs, summarizing meeting notes for quick team updates, and transforming rough ideas into polished campaign briefs. These incremental steps proved far more valuable than attempting large-scale, uncertain implementations.
Rory Hope, a senior manager for growth, shared a similar sentiment regarding search marketing. He noted that initial uncertainty about AI’s disruption of top-of-funnel activities has given way to established processes. The search community now focuses on optimizing for AI visibility, utilizing specialized monitoring tools and clear KPIs for AI Engine Optimization (AEO). By navigating this shift, his team established a scalable AEO process that drives meaningful visibility for their brand.
When asked about small changes with major impacts, Nuriel Canlas, a senior marketer, pointed to a fundamental mindset shift. He moved away from believing he needed a predefined playbook for every scenario and instead embraced figuring out challenges as they arose. This adaptability accelerated his work and improved his results. Similarly, Amanda Kopen, a marketing manager, found that dedicating just fifteen minutes each month to educate her team on AI developments yielded outsized benefits. Consolidating industry updates into short lessons demystified the technology, reduced anxiety, especially among SEO specialists, and empowered daily use. This investment fostered a culture of shared learning, boosting both team efficiency and creative output, which subsequently grew AI-driven referral demand.
A critical piece of conventional wisdom that was successfully ignored this year involved the role of human creativity. Amy Marino, a senior director of brand and social, dismissed the narrative that AI would replace creative strategists. Her team’s integration of AI into social content production revealed the opposite: AI made creative strategy and taste more valuable, not less. While anyone can generate content, the human ability to discern what is culturally relevant, on-brand, and genuinely engaging remains irreplaceable. AI often struggles to produce content that is cool, interesting, or authentically differentiated, underscoring the enduring importance of human judgment and creative direction.
Finally, Jonathon McKenzie, head of brand paid media, discussed liberating himself from a rigid focus on measurable metrics. He let go of the dogma that every initiative must map directly to a clear lifetime value (LTV) story. By investing in out-of-home advertising in a region where brand awareness had plateaued, despite the difficulty in directly measuring its impact, he achieved positive results. This experience reinforced that not everything that builds brand shows up in the weekly dashboard, validating the strategic value of initiatives that contribute to long-term brand equity beyond immediate, quantifiable returns.
(Source: HubSpot Marketing Blog)
