“Simple solutions seldom are.” said philosopher Alfred Whitehead. But that quote hasn’t stopped us from searching for simple solutions to complex problems.

Small business owners are especially susceptible to the promise of a simple solution to any of the many problems that strain their limited time, talent and resources.  The latest promise is a simple solution to marketing. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) will handle your marketing,” they are told, “make marketing easy and make your business grow.”

What business owners are not told, is that they have to learn how to use the AI apps, they have to know when and where to use them, and which app is best for what task.

That said, as a marketing consultant, I say if a business owner wants to try marketing AI apps, they should do so. If it helps, great. If not, they can stop wasting time. I use AI apps for some specific tasks, but not for primary creative or strategy efforts.

INTERVIEW

I decided to ask what AI thinks about human vs AI-directed marketing, so I interviewed my primary AI apps. Here are the questions and answers.

QUESTION: Who is better at marketing — humans or AI?

AI ANSWER:  It’s true that advanced algorithms and data analysis, AI can produce some specific types of targeted advertising and engaging content for businesses. However, humans may be inherently better at creating marketing strategies that truly resonate with audiences.

One of the biggest advantages humans have over AI is their ability to understand other humans. Whether it’s understanding consumer behavior or developing effective communication strategies, human understanding often drives successful marketing campaigns.  Humans have the ability to think and feel beyond the logical capabilities of AI. They can understand emotions, interpret tone, and make connections that AI can only replicate.

A major factor in human understanding lies in empathy. Humans can put themselves in other’s shoes and truly understand their needs and wants. This allows humans to create campaigns that are emotionally engaging. In contrast, AI can only analyze data and produce content that is based on statistics, which may not always reflect the emotional connection that humans seek.

Humans can understand the subtle nuances of target audience and tap into their motivations and desires. Moreover, marketing by humans involves a level of intuition that AI cannot replicate. Intuition plays a crucial role in creating successful campaigns.

QUESTION: Can AI create a unique marketing strategy that has never been used before or completely new creative theme to solve a unique problem?

ANSWER: AI can present examples of what has worked successfully in the past or some combination of themes and strategies that have been used in the past. AI can not create a completely new theme that will guarantee success. Current marketing AI apps cannot create a solution for a unique marketing problem that has never been experienced and recorded somewhere.

SUMMARY

Artificial Intelligence, for all of its advantages (and there are many) lacks the capacity to understand the “Three Cs” of Emotional Intelligence – consciousness, compassion and the ability to create human connections. As any marketer knows, emotions drive most purchases.

AI doesn’t really come up with new creative ideas. AI’s version of “new” is usually a combination of answers and efforts already attempted. Sometimes that’s good enough.

However, if a business owner wants to use AI for marketing, they should understand, it’s not necessarily easier — and certainly no guarantee of success.

As my app says, “…it is important to remember the power of the human touch and the value it brings to building connections with consumers.” Well said.

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