Stop cognitive offloading: How lazy AI use is killing B2B marketing results
Most teams are using AI to make more stuff, not better decisions. That's the trap. Marketing Director Joel Zorrilla calls it "cognitive offloading"-outsourcing your thinking to a bot and wondering why the funnel dries up.
Ask ChatGPT for a "B2B marketing blog," publish it, and expect leads? You'll get generic takes, weak data, and content that screams auto-generated. Joel's point is simple: stop accepting first drafts as finished strategy. Use AI, but keep your brain on.
Why listen to Joel Zorrilla
Joel leads marketing at Wayfindr, a Hong Kong-based fourth-party logistics (4PL) company that manages end-to-end supply chains for e-commerce brands across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Wayfindr, rebranded from CBIP Logistics in mid-2025, positions itself as Asia's first carbon-neutral 4PL.
His specialty is turning complex businesses into clear stories that convert. At InCorp, he recovered a 90% traffic drop in six months after a brutal Google update. At Wayfindr, he rebuilt the engine and generated a 10x ROI-plus secured press mentions for the founder in Bloomberg. He's spent years selling complex services to skeptical buyers. That's the arena most marketers avoid.
Cognitive offloading, explained
Cognitive offloading is using AI in a way that replaces your thinking instead of supporting it. It shows up as copy-paste blogs, fluffy frameworks, and "spray and pray" content calendars.
The result: more output, less insight. That kills trust-especially in complex B2B where buyers can smell shallow content in seconds.
How to use AI without turning your brain off
- Structure and research: Use AI to shape outlines, compare frameworks, and surface sources. Claude is strong for research and clean comparison tables. You still validate the data and add the argument.
- Repurposing: This is the sweet spot. Turn a 1,500-word blog into a LinkedIn carousel, an audio version with ElevenLabs, or an interactive two-speaker podcast using NotebookLM. One asset can feed six channels if you plan it.
- Tool specialization: Different jobs, different tools. Joel pays for Claude (research, tables), ChatGPT (repurposing, custom GPTs), Perplexity (broad research), and Google AI Studio's NanoBanana (brand-aligned illustrations). Use the right tool for the task, not one tool for everything.
- Interactive lead magnets: Static PDFs are fading. Joel is building micro-SaaS tools directly on site-like a shipping cost calculator for Wayfindr. Tools such as Lovable AI and Vibe Coding let non-developers ship useful apps fast. Real utility beats gated ebooks.
Why most agencies still miss in complex B2B
Agencies jump into copy and ads before they grasp the business model. That's the core mistake. If you can't explain the client's offer clearly, you can't target, position, or write anything that converts.
- Build real expertise: Joel and his writer became 4PL specialists-not just "shipping" generalists. That depth drives better keyword choices, smarter prioritization, and credible content.
- Have a learning process: Document what you learn. Confirm terms, flows, and buyer objections. Share it with stakeholders so knowledge transfers, not just files.
- Check your progress with feedback: Early on, expect lots of "this is wrong." Within 2-3 months, that should drop by 80%. If it doesn't, you're not learning fast enough.
The messaging problem that's killing your leads
Traffic isn't the issue-clarity is. Joel runs a "brand story audit" to fix the message across the site, ads, emails, and decks.
- The five-second rule: Above the fold, a visitor should grasp what you do, how it works, and why it matters to them-in five seconds. No buzzwords. No mystery.
- Make the customer the hero: Speak to their pain and desired outcome. Your product is the guide, not the star.
- Simplify offers: Group features under outcomes. Cut internal jargon. Replace vague claims with specifics, examples, and numbers.
- Test the message, not just the layout: A/B test two different narratives on your landing page. Split traffic 50/50. Keep the winner. Repeat.
What's working in 2025 (and what to build next)
- Quality still wins: Everyone can publish. Few can teach. Depth, original thinking, and credible data set you apart. AI helps, but you supply the judgment.
- Keep up with new capabilities: New features land every week. Follow operators, subscribe to a few solid newsletters, and run small experiments.
- Optimize for AI-led discovery: Think about how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude might cite or summarize your content. Clear headings, tight answers, and source-backed claims help you get referenced.
- Build interactive lead magnets: Micro-SaaS beats PDFs. Calculators, graders, and planners drive qualified demand and create instant trust.
A practical playbook you can run this quarter
- Pick one core topic your buyers obsess over. Create a definitive guide with your POV and data.
- Use AI to draft the outline and table comparisons. You finalize the logic, examples, and numbers.
- Turn the piece into 5-7 assets: carousel, email series, 60-90s clips, audio read, and a webinar Q&A.
- Ship one interactive tool tied to the topic (calculator, estimator, audit). Gate it softly with email.
- Run two landing pages with different narratives. Split traffic. Keep the better hook.
- Tighten your homepage hero to pass the five-second rule. Measure bounce and time on page after.
- Review performance weekly. Kill the weak. Double down on what moves pipeline.
Tool stack Joel is using today
- Research and structure: Claude, Perplexity
- Repurposing and custom GPTs: ChatGPT
- Audio and interactive content: ElevenLabs, NotebookLM
- Brand-aligned visuals: Google AI Studio's NanoBanana
- Micro-SaaS builders: Lovable AI, Vibe Coding
Use each for what it's good at. Don't force one tool to do everything.
For students and career switchers
Joel is blunt: a four-year marketing degree can be out of date by graduation. The path forward is constant learning, smart AI adoption, and shipping work that actually helps buyers.
If you're building those skills now, this program is a useful starting point: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
Final note
This interview took place in September 2025. Since then, Joel Zorrilla joined Wayfindr full-time as Marketing Director in October 2025.
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