The AI bubble is starting to burst. There is opposition to data centres that are being planned, now that we are realising how much space they take up, resources they use, pollution they cause and noise they make. And according to this week’s guest blogger, AI also makes marketing harder.
Charles Liu is the founder and Marketing Guru of Cubic Promote, a Sydney-based promotional products and custom apparel business he’s been building since 2005. When he’s not thinking about branding, or the next big shift in marketing technology, he’s at home in Sydney with his two kids, two dogs — Coco the Bichon and Peanut the Cavoodle — and a healthy curiosity about where the world is headed.
For the last two years, we’ve been told that AI will make marketing easier. In some ways, that’s true. It’s now quicker to create content, do research, and come up with ideas. Production costs are also going down.
But as someone who has run a business for over 20 years, I haven’t found that AI makes marketing easier. It’s made it harder, because its more competitive than ever.
That might sound strange coming from someone who actively uses AI tools, produces content, participates in podcasts, contributes to media commentary and embraces new technology. But here’s the reality: because AI can create too much content, you spend the time you might have saved doing even more work.
For most of marketing history, creating content cost money. Writing articles took time. Designing graphics took skill. Video production required resources. Publishing at scale was difficult. AI changed all of that almost overnight.
Today, any business can create articles, social posts, videos, emails and marketing campaigns at a volume that would have been impossible a few years ago due to the time, cost and resources required. This doesn’t necessarily mean better quality content is being created, or that your marketing is better. If anything, the result is more noise and content that is becoming more generic – you also risk a backlash online.
Many of us are seeing the volume of what we are making, rather than what we are actually releasing into the world. We feel pressured to be more active across multiple channels. AI has created a race. The moment one business increases its presence, competitors feel pressure to do the same. What was once considered exceptional marketing activity quickly becomes the new baseline.
One thing that has surprised me is how much more valuable human visibility has become. It is the antidote that cuts through mass AI consumption. Three years ago, I spent very little time on podcasts or media outreach. Today, both play an important role in our marketing strategy. Creating these content assets takes a lot of time to do correctly. AI has forced me to do this to remain relevant, hence making marketing a lot harder. Customers increasingly want to know who they’re buying from.
They want to hear the founder speak.
They want to understand the people behind the business.
They want evidence that a company exists beyond its website.
They love to know the juicy details and fun anecdotes behind the brand.
The return of genuine storytelling and giving customers insight into how your business works behind the scenes is one way to remain relevant and stand out in an AI world. When any company can make articles, social posts, and emails, the people behind the business set it apart.
We’ve had customers contact us who already knew our business before we answered the phone. Some had discovered us through referrals. Others mentioned our social media presence. Some had listened to our podcasts.
Many had researched us extensively before making contact. The interesting part is that by the time they reached out, much of the trust-building had already happened. The customer wasn’t simply finding us. They were validating us.
AI hasn’t made marketing simpler. It has made the cost of creating content cheaper while making the cost of earning attention much higher. Publishing more is no longer enough because every competitor can do exactly the same thing.
The businesses that stand out won’t necessarily be the ones producing the most content. They’ll be the ones building the most trust. Founder visibility, genuine stories, behind-the-scenes insights and consistent proof that real people stand behind the brand have become competitive advantages that AI cannot easily replicate.
Ironically, the more AI-generated content that floods the internet, the more valuable authentic human connection becomes. For consumers, that’s a positive shift. They have more ways than ever to evaluate the businesses they buy from. For marketers, however, the job has become significantly harder. Success is no longer about creating more content. It’s about giving people a compelling reason to trust you.
One challenge for marketers now is that AI is changing things faster than experts can update their advice.
The pace of change means tactics that worked a few years ago may no longer be as effective today.
The channels have changed.
The algorithms have changed.
Customer behaviour has changed and therefore customers need new reasons to trust an organisation, and businesses need new ways and reasons to stand out.
Thank you Charles! If you’d also like to feature on the All about Digital Marketing blog, please check out the guidelines blog and get in touch. And don’t forget to subscribe.
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