When everyone has AI, thinking is the edge
AI makes outputs cheap and constant. That puts a premium on inputs: the questions you ask, the problems you choose, and the context you set.
In marketing, execution is getting faster and less expensive by the day. Strategy moves to the front of the stack.
AI automates the doing - direction wins
WPP producing ads with AI makes production faster and cheaper, but it also reveals the shift underway. The scarce thing is no longer "can we make it?" It's "should we make it, and why this way?"
Here's one example of that shift.
Think about photography. When film gave way to smartphones, photos became endless and disposable. People still hire photographers for weddings - not to get more pictures, but to get more meaning.
Great work creates meaning, not just output. The same is now true across marketing.
What AI commoditizes
- Speed.
- Data processing.
- Task execution.
- Ideas on demand.
What becomes valuable
- Choosing the right direction.
- Judgment and evaluation.
- Strategy and orchestration.
- Taste, originality, and differentiation.
With good strategy, AI is an exponential advantage. With bad strategy, it's an exponential failure.
The question determines the outcome
A precise question beats a perfect answer. A bad question, answered flawlessly by AI, is still a bad outcome.
Problem definition sets the entire chain: what you ask, which data you collect, which solutions are even possible, how you budget, and what you measure.
If you ask, "How do we breed faster horses?" you get tiny improvements. If you ask, "How do we move people across town faster?" you get cars. The breakthrough often isn't a better answer - it's a different question.
This is a core strategic skill most teams underuse.
Why meaning - not output - is the human advantage
AI generates options by replaying patterns. Useful, yes. But it can't tell which idea is brave, feel when an insight hits a nerve, or sense the cultural tension that makes a message land or miss.
As execution gets easy, the creative job shifts: curate possibilities, frame the narrative, and push beyond safe, familiar edges. That takes taste, context, and conviction.
Some work remains human by default: setting the mission, negotiating interests, building culture, aligning stakeholders, and managing politics. These are judgment calls. Models don't carry that weight for you.
Direction is the scarce resource
AI won't make strategy less relevant. It increases the cost of weak thinking. If you think clearly, AI multiplies your impact. If you don't, it multiplies your mistakes.
- Critical thinking is a competitive skill.
- Judgment is a strategic asset.
- Strategy is a multiplier.
- Leadership is a differentiator.
- Original thinking becomes priceless.
Upgrade your inputs: practical moves for marketers
- Write the problem statement first. One sentence. No jargon. "We need to increase qualified trials from paid social by 30% in Q2 without raising CAC."
- Separate questions by layer: market, audience, offer, message, channel, creative, measurement. Don't mix them in one prompt.
- Use a question tree. Start broad ("What's the real constraint?"), then branch into testable sub-questions.
- Create a decision brief for AI work. Include objective, constraints, definitions of success, and what to avoid. Then generate.
- Run opposing prompts. Ask the model to argue both for and against your current direction. Hunt for blind spots.
- Prototype three distinct strategic routes before making assets. Don't let the first decent idea win by default.
- Score concepts on a simple rubric: tension, originality, clarity, proof. Keep the one that earns it, not the one that feels safe.
- Measure signal, not just volume. Track outcomes like qualified actions, assisted conversions, and message recall - not output counts.
The takeaway
When answers are free, the market competes on questions, choices, and clarity. You set the direction. AI accelerates it.
If you want a structured path to sharpen strategy and apply AI with intent, see our AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
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