Human Insight: The Missing Link in Your AI Strategy
Friday July 25, 2025
Artificial intelligence without H.I. (human insight) limits your brand’s integrity, voice, and reach.
As we navigate the AI revolution in marketing, it's evident that while artificial intelligence can enhance efficiency, it cannot replace the human touch that gives your brand its unique voice and purpose.
Let’s start with the role of marketing, what is its purpose in your business? For me it’s simple…at the end of the day all I’m looking for is reach. I’m looking to have a potential client reach into my company to inquire about working with us. That’s it. No less. No more.
Now the effectiveness of how well I “market” determines how much time, energy, effort I need to put in. Not to mention cost!
What IS the Role of A.I. in Marketing?
AI has become an integral part of a marketers toolkit, enabling us to:
• Automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for even more work.
• Analyze vast amounts of data to uncover insights about customer behavior.
The list goes on and on. I’m sure there are marketers out there who are using AI in ways that I’ve never even thought of. AI capabilities have transformed how we operate, allowing us to be more agile, more responsive and more data-driven. However, AI has its limitations.
The Limitations of A.I.
Artificial intelligence, thus far, lacks the ability to understand and replicate the nuances of human emotion and cultural context. It’s like meeting someone who’s just moved to the US and they speak English well, but there’s something just a little off with how they use the English language. Like, in your head you think “wow that’s an odd way of saying that” or “I’ve never heard that idea communicated like that.”
For me, this experience is the same as reading AI-generated copy/articles/blog posts, etc. It’s a hard thing to describe when writing but you know it when you read it. So where marketing tools that already have AI integrations included for easy access can “create” a blog post or write an article in 20 seconds, what it CANNOT do, is communicate effectively to your target audience. This is where human marketers need to step in and bring empathy, creativity, and ethical considerations to the forefront. And above all else, a voice and a position.
Our Strategic Approach
As we have been integrating AI into our daily lives and work cycles, here is how I’ve been using AI effectively, while still maintaining our brand's integrity, identity, and voice as well as those of our various clients. I focus on:
• Human Oversight: Ensuring that all AI-generated content is heavily reviewed and refined by our team to align with our brand. This is not just spell checking, grammar checking, etc. Does the piece communicate? Does it have some kind of voice (professional, humorous, etc.)?
• Continuous Learning: Investing in training for our team to stay abreast of AI developments and best practices. Also, reading in-depth pieces about how AI generates content, where it sources it from, how it relays back to me the reader.
• Practice & Application: Learning how to actually use AI (remember there’s still a person that has to initiate the tasks for AI to complete, at least for now). Using AI for data compiling, competitor research, brand positioning, best practices for results.
Conclusion
AI is a powerful tool that, when used thoughtfully, can enhance marketing efforts. However, it is not a substitute for the human elements that define one's brand. By combining the strengths of AI with that of H.I. (human insight), we can create meaningful connections with our audience and drive our brand forward.
Inspired by insights from MarTech's article: "AI can’t create meaning — that’s still marketing’s job" (martech.org).
Written by human Jason Stanard.