Should You Use AI in Your Messaging? The Answer Might Surprise You.

I was going to talk about something else this time, but five people have asked me about this, so now seems like the right time.

So, should you use AI to generate your marketing messages?

The answer is: well, kinda, maybe, sort of—sometimes.

My biggest issue with AI is that most AI-generated content has a distinct “look” or “sound,” and once you notice it, it’s hard to unsee.

I was an early adopter—or more of an explorer—of AI. As a self-confessed sci-fi fan, AI has been a staple of nearly every story in the past decade. Who wouldn’t want to see what this technology can do?

When I experimented with AI art generators (and I think I tried most of them at the time), I was often disappointed. Sure, they could create something wacky and unusual, but that wasn’t my problem—I always knew exactly what I wanted.

As an art director, the creative vision was already in my mind, but AI-generated art always looked, well… like AI. The amount of effort it took to get AI to produce what I envisioned was more than simply hiring a photographer, an illustrator, or just doing it myself.

And that’s the core issue when it comes to creative and AI.

If you don’t really know what you want, AI can generate something. But marketing isn’t just about creating something—it needs to be intentional, targeted, and strategic. AI rarely delivers that.

That said, I do use AI to proofread text.

A great prompt is: “Check the following for grammar, spelling, and flow.” Your AI of choice will clean up simple mistakes — like confusing from and form (which have the same word shape, making them easy to misread).

But if I ask AI to rewrite my text, it does—just in the same predictable way as every other AI.

If you only use AI to generate your messages, they’ll look ok at first, but they’ll look exactly like every other message your prospect gets — in short, they become generic. A commodity. And the one thing you don’t want to become is a commodity.

However, like everything in marketing, the market is the final judge. Test AI-generated messages against those crafted by a professional (or yourself) and see what performs better.

Because marketing isn’t about doing what’s “correct”—it’s about selling.

Just don’t become a commodity along the way.

#startups #sales #business

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Phil Emery is a marketing consultant, writer, musician, and podcaster. He’s the brains behind Focused Creative, a boutique marketing and creative practice serving B2B and non-profit clients across North America. He has played in bands across Toronto and is the co-host and co-founder of the Song Talk Radio Podcast, a show about the inner workings of songwriting, now entering its 11th year of weekly broadcasts. Song Talk Radio also broadcasts on 1280AM Toronto.

Originally from Toronto, he now lives in St. John’s with his wife and four cats. You can learn more about Phil’s personal projects at PhilEmery.ca.