AI is exciting. AI is terrifying. And both can be true.
I recently read a great newsletter from Justin Welsh about how AI is changing the way we create value and how the real advantage now might be our humanity.
That really resonated with me.
In my work, I’ve been experimenting heavily with AI tools to speed up ad creation, content, campaign planning, segmentation, reporting, you name it.
The productivity gains are astonishing. What used to take four hours now takes 30 minutes.
That’s exciting.
But here’s the hard truth: efficiency does not equal differentiation because everyone is using AI, everyone has gotten more efficient. Nothing too innovative about it now. It’s the non-AI factors like the bullets you bring up on your website that are differentiating factors, especially in B2B marketing.
The more I automate, the more I realize the real value comes from what AI can’t replicate (yet?):
• Understanding regional buying behavior in hospitality tech. The way our audience searches for solutions in the Americas is completely different from Europe.
• Building trust with sales teams who need more than just MQLs—they need context. An MQL without it is just noise.
• Knowing when to pause a campaign not because the data says so, but because your gut, shaped by years in the trenches, tells you something’s off.
The best marketers in the AI era won’t be the ones who prompt the fastest.
They’ll be the ones who add critical thinking, human judgment on top of AI outputs.
The biggest shift in my mindset lately?
AI is not the strategy. It’s the amplifier.
It’s no longer about coming up with more ideas for blog posts or landing pages, ChatGPT can do that. It’s about knowing which 10% of actions will drive 90% of the impact.
That’s the edge.
Curious to hear from others. How are you navigating the tension between speed and soul in your work?