You’d think that a field obsessed with innovation, channels, and tools would embrace AI content with open arms. Yet in 2025, there’s still a surprising amount of cynicism—especially among seasoned, “classical” marketers—towards using AI to write content.
This post is, ironically, written by an LLM. So let’s unpack what’s really going on, why the resistance is so emotional, and what the actual positives are when AI is used well.
1. The Emotional Core: Identity, Craft, and Status
For many classical marketers, writing isn’t just another task—it’s part of their professional identity.
- Copy as craftsmanship
They came up in an era where “the big idea” and “the perfect line” were the pinnacle of the job. Great copy was a craft honed over years. When a machine can spit out a decent headline in seconds, it can feel like:- The craft is being devalued
- Their edge is being eroded
- Their experience no longer “counts” as much
- Status and seniority
A lot of senior folks built their careers on strategic thinking and strong writing. AI tools that a junior can operate can feel like a leveling force. That feels threatening:- “If anyone can generate copy, what am I for?”
- “Is my taste and judgment being replaced by templates?”
- Fear of creative homogenization
Classical marketers have seen plenty of formulaic, “SEO-first” content turn channels into beige wallpaper. They worry AI will:- Amplify sameness
- Reward volume over originality
- Encourage lowest-common-denominator messaging
Underneath the cynicism is often a simple, human fear: What if this makes me less relevant?
2. The Practical Concerns (That Aren’t Totally Wrong)
Some of the skepticism is actually rational. Older-school marketers are reacting to real issues they see in the AI content they’re shown.
- Mediocre outputs used “as is”
Many teams treat AI like a vending machine: type prompt, copy–paste to CMS. That leads to:- Generic tone
- Fluffy, repetitive phrasing
- Shallow thinking masked as “insight”
- Brand voice erosion
Brand voice is hard-won. If every team member uses a different prompt in a different tool with no guardrails, you get:- Inconsistent tone
- Drifting messaging
- Off-brand phrasing that “almost” sounds right
- Risk and compliance
Marketers who’ve lived through PR crises and legal reviews are wary of:- Hallucinated facts
- Unverified claims
- Subtle plagiarism or too-close paraphrasing
- Metrics myopia
There’s a fear that leadership will look at:- “We 10x’d content output with AI!”
…and ignore whether: - Quality, engagement, and brand equity quietly dropped.
- “We 10x’d content output with AI!”
So the cynicism often comes from seeing bad AI use in the wild—and assuming that’s all AI can do.
3. The Generational & Philosophical Divide
There’s also a mindset difference between “classical” and “AI-native” marketers:
- Classical marketing mindset
- Big campaigns, big ideas, big craft
- Long lead times and meticulous execution
- Fewer, more considered outputs
- AI-native marketing mindset
- Rapid experimentation and iteration
- Always-on content and personalization
- Many small bets, killed or scaled by data
When one side sees the other:
- Classical marketers see “spammy volume and shortcuts.”
- AI-native marketers see “gatekeeping and nostalgia.”
The truth is that the future of marketing will fuse both: enduring brand thinking plus AI-enabled speed and scale.
4. What AI Actually Does Well for Marketers
Now, to the positives—because they’re real, and they’re big if you use AI correctly.
4.1. AI Kills the Blank Page, Not the Big Idea
AI is very good at:
- Generating starting points
- Exploring multiple angles
- Drafting variations
But it’s still not great at:
- Truly original strategic insight
- Deep category nuance without guidance
- Navigating complex organizational politics or stakeholder agendas
So the upside:
- Faster from zero to “first draft”
Marketers can spend less time getting started and more time:- Sharpening positioning
- Injecting real insight and examples
- Aligning with strategy
AI turns copywriting from “art plus sweat” into “art plus curation.”
4.2. More Iterations → Better Creative
Classical processes often limit iteration because time is scarce:
- One or two headline options
- One hero concept
- One or two email flows
AI lets you:
- Explore 20 headlines, then human-select and refine the top 3
- Test multiple tones (bolder, more playful, more formal)
- Quickly localize and adapt for segments
Quality improves not because AI is “more creative,” but because you can cheaply explore more options and choose better ones.
4.3. Personalization at Scale
Humans alone can’t:
- Write unique variations for dozens of segments, behaviors, and touchpoints
- Continuously tailor content based on live data
AI can:
- Generate tailored email intros by persona or lifecycle stage
- Adjust landing page copy for different industries or pain points
- Produce contextual microcopy (in-product prompts, tooltips, banners)
Classical marketers know personalization matters; AI finally makes it operationally feasible.
4.4. Time Back for Strategy and Insight
A lot of marketers are quietly drowning in:
- Endless versions of very similar assets
- Brief rewrites, small copy tweaks, small-channel variants
- “Can you just make this sound nicer?” requests
Used well, AI can:
- Handle the boilerplate and variant work
- Turn briefs into first-draft assets in minutes
- Summarize long docs, research, or transcripts into something usable
The net result:
- More time for actual marketing
- Customer interviews
- Insight generation
- Strategy, positioning, differentiation
Instead of replacing marketers, AI can free them to do the work that actually moves the needle.
4.5. Leveling Up Non-Writers Without Diluting the Pros
Not everyone in marketing is a strong writer. AI can:
- Help PMs, sales, CS, and junior marketers produce clearer internal and external comms
- Support global teams where English (or the primary brand language) isn’t native
- Provide structure and clarity for people who think visually or analytically
For the strong writers:
- They become editors, directors, and voice guardians
- Their role shifts from “words factory” to “quality control and narrative leadership”
That’s a promotion in everything but job title.
5. How Classical Marketers Can Use AI Without Losing Their Soul
A lot of resistance softens when you frame AI not as “copywriter replacement” but as “creative exoskeleton.”
Here’s how that looks in practice:
- Use AI for structure, keep humans for substance
- Ask AI for outlines, frameworks, angle lists
- Insert your own real stories, customer quotes, and category insight
- Codify brand voice, then enforce it
- Create explicit brand voice guidelines and examples
- Use those as part of your AI prompts
- Make human review of tone/voice non-negotiable
- Treat AI outputs as hypotheses, not truth
- Generate multiple versions and test them
- Let data, not ego, decide what performs
- Focus human effort where context is complex
- High-stakes messaging (crisis comms, major launches, sensitive topics)
- Executive messaging and investor communications
- Thought leadership that genuinely advances a conversation
- Measure what actually matters
- Don’t just brag about “number of posts” or “time saved”
- Look at:
- Engagement quality
- Lead quality and revenue
- Brand sentiment and recognition
- Compare AI-assisted vs non-AI scenarios honestly
6. The Real Positive: A Chance to Redefine “Good Marketing”
The most underappreciated upside: AI forces the industry to confront what actually matters.
If tools can:
- Generate “good enough” copy on demand
- Bundle standard formats and best practices into prompts
Then human excellence shifts toward:
- Original insight and POV
- Clear, differentiated positioning
- Bold creative concepts that no template would suggest
- Deep customer empathy and sophisticated journey design
AI doesn’t reduce the need for marketers; it raises the bar for what great marketers do.
7. From Cynicism to Curatorship
Cynicism from classical marketers is understandable:
- They’re reacting to lazy use of a powerful tool.
- They’re defending the parts of the craft that should be defended.
But the path forward isn’t to reject AI; it’s to own it:
- Become the person who knows how to brief, shape, and refine AI outputs.
- Use your taste and experience as the quality filter that machines don’t have.
- Let AI do the tedious 60% so you can invest your energy in the irreplaceable 40%.
In other words: the marketers who will thrive are the ones who stop asking, “Will AI replace me?” and start asking,
“How do I become twice as dangerous with AI at my side?”