The advent of the AI tool: ‘These aren’t the droids you’re looking for’

AI is the initialism on everyone’s lips at the moment. Where it was previously the reserve of science fiction writers and by-lines in the New Scientist, it has now hit the mainstream with a slew of market-ready tools for every Tom, Dick and Harry to get their hands on.  

Those of you feeling anxious about the impending rise of the machines, have no fear. It’s not quite time to find an underground bunker in which to wait out the apocalypse. We’re not dealing with self-aware machines just yet.  

What we are dealing with, is an explosion of tools designed to take the labour out of many tasks. AI art is now all the rage, delivering eerily realistic pieces on the back of a few simple lines of prompt. Similarly, you can put together a blog in minutes through a few simple guidelines on one of the new content tools. 

That should be great news for businesses and bad news for marketers, right? 

Well… yes and no. It’s a question with a nuanced answer. 

Let’s explore. 

The lay of the AI technology landscape 

There are many new tools that can prove useful to you and your business. These include: 

• Open AI 
• ChatGPT 
• Dall-e – creating images from words 
• LLM 
• Jukebox – music creation 
• Resemble.ai – voice cloning 
• Reface – inserting a different face into an existing video 

As you can see, these tools are making roads into everything from Music to face-swapping technology. 

For instance, here’s this image of the Luma team which has been turned into something in the style of Van Gogh. This AI has studied Vincent’s entire back catalogue and produced something that resembles his oeuvre. 

Using another well-known AI tool called Jasper, I asked it for a paragraph on how to be a successful property developer in the North West. It churned this out in a matter of seconds: 

For those looking to become a successful property developer in North West England, understanding the built environment of the region is key. Having an awareness of the area’s architecture and urbanism can help with making informed development decisions. Cities such as Manchester offer potential developers a host of viable opportunities both in terms of residential and commercial properties. Being aware of local regulations and staying up-to-date with trends are essential for any budding property developer in the North West. With this knowledge, it is possible to make a success out of developing property in this region. 

All I had to do was give it a short brief and specify a few key words I wanted it to cover, like, Manchester, residential, and viability.

Not bad for 2 minutes of work, right? 

How do they work? 

These programmes have access to gargantuan data sets and come armed with processing algorithms. These clever ‘rules’ they’re programmed with allow them to learn from the features and patterns in the data sets. It’s this ‘learning’ that allows the platforms to continue improving and delivering well-written, accurate content. 

How is AI going to change our approach to marketing?

There is change afoot, there’s no getting around it. But let’s not lose sight of a few things. When we invented the ship, we also invented the shipwreck. 

What does that mean? Well, it means technology is great and improves our lives in many ways; but it comes with risks. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. 

With AI, it’s important not to be blaise and think it’s the answer to all your worries. It categorically isn’t a replacement for your marketing department. If you’re looking for a tool to make your marketing investment obsolete, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for (no Jedi mind tricks needed to persuade you here).

Don’t get me wrong, these tools will be useful, but how you use them will determine how effective it is for you and your business. 

The good 

These platforms will undoubtedly become a useful tool that will save businesses – including marketing agencies – time in putting together the brass tacks of a piece of content. 

The bad 

Some businesses will take this as a reason to dispense with a thoughtful marketer or marketing agency, deciding to let the AI do all the heavy lifting when it comes to their website and outbound communications. 

The downright ugly 

For some less scrupulous marketers and agencies, they’ll see these tools as a great way to churn out cheap and nasty content to the detriment of quality and in the interest of increased capacity. 

How to approach AI 

AI tools have access to the sum total of human output. They can access everything on the internet in seconds. 

Still in their training phase. Within a couple of years, it’ll be mainstream and normal. 

But – and it’s a big but – these platforms are not replacements for a proper copywriter, designer or marketer. They are tools that will enhance these roles. From a content perspective, AI is great at getting the information you need down on paper and for the most part, delivering accurate information. 

But if all you publish is content ripped straight from the AI tools, not only are you going to sound like everyone else doing the exact same thing (and trust me, lots of people will be doing it), but you’ll also be delivering writing that lacks creativity, humour, gravitas and personality. All the best brands in the world have some mix of these in abundance.

Just compare the introduction to this article to the AI written content halfway down. It’s chalk and cheese (even if I do say so myself). While there is interesting information in the latter, its presentation is poor and a bit boring. Throughout this article I’ve slipped in pop culture references, appealed to your emotions, cracked jokes, been playful – all hallmarks of an evocative piece of content.  

Marketing is a creative process. Research is a big part of it and is often where ideas and unexpected connections come from. But creativity comes from connecting streams of information from different fields to create an emotional response in your audience. For that, you’re going to need someone with a fully functioning emotional architecture of their own. 

It’s the difference between knowing the notes in B flat major and understanding how to create a masterpiece like Bohemian Rhapsody. You can understand all there is to know about B flat major, the ins and outs of chord arrangements, of harmony and so forth, but there’s something else that was at work when Freddie sat at the piano and wrote that song. Something uniquely human that you don’t get from this current crop of tools. Creativity and emotion. 

Can AI come up with a new trend? Can it offer genuine insight beyond the facts already out there in its reference data set? Can it give us an honest take on a new piece of legislation? Can it appreciate what that legislation means for an industry or for people more generally, not just in terms of the physical but the emotional too? For the time being, that answer is no. 

The bottom line 

Some people will use these tools like a crutch and they’ll pay the price for it. They’ll find themselves lost in a sea of people in a similar space churning out the same old chaff. But those who really appreciate the benefits of good marketing, who understand its power and the need to emotionally connect with an audience, to capture their interest and convert it into revenue, they’ll be the ones who understand that AI programmes are just another minor tool in a good marketer’s arsenal. 

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If you’re looking for marketing support in an ever-changing landscape, give Luma marketing a call and we’ll deliver a strategy that sets you up for success, using every tool at our disposal.