First, let’s address the elephant in the room: Will AI replace advertising and marketing professionals? The short answer: No. 

And this is why: AI cannot write to political, topical, or regional nuances. It cannot replicate the big-picture thinking of campaign work. Chick-fil-A’s long-standing “EAT MOR CHIKIN” campaign, brought to you at the behest of cows working to avoid becoming a burger, contains wit, cheek, and an element of “this is so nuts, it just might work” that requires a real person, putting pen to paper and scribbling out ideas until they strike gold. 

That aside, AI does have its merits. When you’re strapped for time or resources, it can serve as a jumping-off point for creative ideation. And, when used properly, AI automates the tasks you may not enjoy doing. 

Using AI for marketing can offer several benefits:

Pros:

  1. Battles writer’s block: When you hit a wall and feel like you have nowhere to go, AI can generate thought starters that can spark new ideas or paths for creative exploration. 
  2. Streamlines business-speak content: Materials that require less creative input, like press releases or perhaps blogs, can be AI-generated to save time. A human eye is still needed for any final touches or edits, but it allows you to ship time-sensitive content quickly. That said, there are inherent risks (see #3 in Cons below). 
  3. Cost savings: AI can automate many marketing processes. This can be especially beneficial for small businesses with limited resources.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to using AI in marketing, including:

Cons:

  1. Ethical concerns: You may run into trouble if the AI breaches ethical or discriminatory rules. For example, AI algorithms might unfairly target certain groups of customers or use data in ways that violate privacy laws. 
  2. Limited human touch: While AI can improve targeting and personalization, you’ll miss out on the same level of human interaction and empathy that customers have come to expect. This could adversely affect customer engagement. 
  3. Plagiarism risks: You shouldn’t use AI for the bulk of your content. When indexed, there’s a very real possibility that it will be flagged for plagiarism. Plus, a direct copy-paste from an AI generator can stain the quality of the content.
  4. Technical limitations: AI is not infallible, and that incurs a risk of errors and inaccuracies. Additionally, AI may struggle to adapt to rapidly changing market trends or unexpected events.
  5. Investment required: Depending on the tool, AI can require a significant investment of time and resources. 

There are innumerable AI tools available, and more currently under development. We’ve reviewed a few of them for you, and put together quick summaries of each. 

Perplexity (free)

Perplexity is a Question + Answer platform. You provide a question, and the AI generates a response. Bonus: it provides sources to verify each claim, and related questions/answers that may better suit your needs. 

Could be good for: Blogs, web content 

ChatGPT (free & paid versions) 

ChatGPT provides responses/solutions to any prompt. When asked, “What makes a good headline?” it created a 220-word response with supporting bullet points. Content is direct and easy to understand, and the formatting makes it scannable (perfect for web copy). It’s possible to use a prompt and response for the framework of an email or FAQ. 

Could be good for: Blogs, web content, email, FAQ

Quick Tools AI Writer (free)

This AI writer has a tabbed list of potential uses, each with its own form field. It covers everything from social media captions to slogans. The heavier the creative lift, the less reliable the tool becomes. For example, the tagline generator option does not churn out gold. However, you can leverage it to spark new ideas and permutations to riff on.  

Could be good for: Sparking ideas, social media captions, populating Facebook ad headline/description forms  

Jasper (paid)

Jasper packs the one-two punch of copy and image creation. Being that it’s paid, it offers features the free tools can’t provide, like generating content fluently in 30 languages and auto-optimizing content for SEO. Small businesses may not utilize all features, so consider what you really need before grabbing the company card. 

Could be good for: Streamlining creation, email marketing, SEO, images (art and illustrations) 

Conclusion

While AI may serve as a boon to marketing professionals, it cannot fully replace a human touch. Consider the benefits — and risks — of AI before adding it to your marketing strategy.