If you’re a business owner or marketing team leader and you’re considering investing in artificial intelligence (AI) systems rather than building your marketing team or budget, this article is for you.

If you look at recent headlines or scroll through LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen business leaders talking about how AI is the future.

There’s no doubt AI has — and will continue to — revolutionize the digital marketing world. However, bold claims about how it will replace marketers have us more than a little skeptical.

While it definitely has a place in the marketing process and is thoughtfully used by our team and partners, AI is no replacement for humans. With bias, potential errors, and a lack of creative thinking, AI works best when it’s in the hands of capable human marketers who know how to use it safely and efficiently to drive the best results.

AI Can Have Bias

AI algorithms are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on. You need humans and critical thinking to make sure bias is as limited as possible.

AI systems make decisions based only on available data. Since a lot of historical data comes from light-skinned and affluent folks, you may be starting from a skewed place to begin with. And that data may include unintentional biases, human errors, and social inequities, which then flow through to your marketing processes.

Without even realizing it, your website chatbot could use discriminatory or offensive language or an entire group of qualified people could be excluded from your advertising efforts.

Even OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT craze, is upfront about potential AI bias and risks. Company disclaimers note “models more strongly associate European American names with positive sentiment” and “negative stereotypes with black women.”

Without any kind of human defense or buffer, you risk significant damage to your brand and costly legal issues.

Human reviews, purposeful adjustments, and personalized optimization ensure the work you get from any AI system is diverse, representative of your brand and customers, and doesn’t violate any moral or ethical principles. If potential bias issues do pop up, humans can quickly flag them and improve results moving forward.

AI is Full of Errors & Inaccuracies

Spend 10 minutes using an AI-driven tool and you’re sure to spot mistakes or unexpected results. You need human team members with the expertise to identify and correct errors before they negatively impact your brand.

While AI mistakes and inaccuracies can pop up in all areas of digital marketing, we wanted to share just a few examples our team has experienced lately.

ChatGPT frequently repeats ideas or makes up things that sound correct but actually aren’t. That’s because it’s pulling from a plethora of sources, some of which are poorly written and inaccurate. It can’t reason or think critically to determine if ideas make sense or connect.

Writing tools like Grammarly may also offer writing suggestions that sound robotic or misaligned with your company’s tone and voice. It may misinterpret words or cut out creative and meaningful phrases in favor of making the content more concise.

Consider this example. There’s nothing technically wrong with “properly” — and you could argue that “adequately” is a more complex word. Does it make the sentence better? Ultimately, Grammarly has no idea. It’s up to you as the writer to decide what’s best for your audience.

In cases like these, professionals need to step in and add the “human” element back in. That includes adding necessary context and examples, reworking to fit your brand tone and voice, and researching to make sure information is factual and up-to-date.

AI can’t think creatively or strategically

AI is a great marketing tool for analyzing large amounts of data, identifying patterns, and making predictions based on that data. However, AI is limited by the data and algorithms that govern its behavior. That means that, unlike humans, AI is not capable of true innovation or creativity.

While AI can certainly assist your marketing team in the creative process by suggesting ideas or identifying patterns, it cannot replicate the true human creative process.

Because AI only pulls from available data and historical insights, it may not have the full context when it comes to current trends and events that are crucial to a fluid marketing plan.

If you take the human element out of your marketing and rely solely on AI, you’ll run the risk of blending in, missing key trends, and getting lost in the crowd of mediocre marketing. With AI plus a talented team of creatives, you’ll be able to come up with creative marketing strategies and ideas efficiently — setting your brand apart from the competition.

Humans can minimize privacy concerns

From browsing history to biometric scans, AI tools collect tons of data. You need human interference to make sure that proprietary and customer information is secure and follows all regulations.

Hacks, data breaches, and misuse of customer data can have huge financial and reputation repercussions. As these privacy concerns, it is important to implement strong data privacy laws and internal processes.

Take Samsung, for example, which enacted stricter processes after employees accidentally shared proprietary information to ChapGPT. Since these tools remember and build based on what you share with them, this confidential information could potentially be shared with others around the world.

By having humans who understand regulations and how data is being used, your company can be transparent about the data they collect and how it is used. This transparency is key to building trust with customers.

Human experts can also ensure that AI systems you’re using are designed with privacy and security in mind and regularly audit for potential privacy violations. If a threat or violation does occur, they’ll be ready to respond and minimize any potential damage.

AI bots are no replacement for talented marketers

We get it. Time and budgets are tight, which makes relying on AI an appealing option. But if you really want to make the most of your marketing resources, you need a team with a proven track record, years of expertise, and an understanding of how and when to use AI in the marketing process.

E/Power has been helping businesses find success online for more than 20 years. Our talented team of marketers will help you craft a targeted and detailed marketing strategy that fits your budget and helps you reach your goals. Sound good?