Since around 2015, there’s been a rise in AI tools in marketing, including lead generation, email verification, personalized content, and automated replies. I must say some of these tools have made workflows quicker and made the whole process more efficient. My company has added several new tools in the past year to boost cold outreach too. Some have been really helpful, and we may keep using them. Still, I believe that at the heart of sales and marketing is the conversation between people, not machines. As AI continues to develop, I’m curious about what tasks they can really take on.
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I think these AI tools are just marketing fluff, rebranded features of technologies that already exist, aimed at impressing clueless executives and shareholders.
Dylan said:
I think these AI tools are just marketing fluff, rebranded features of technologies that already exist, aimed at impressing clueless executives and shareholders.
Realizing that won’t stop a layoff.
Dylan said:
I think these AI tools are just marketing fluff, rebranded features of technologies that already exist, aimed at impressing clueless executives and shareholders.
This app claims to be powered by AI!
Dylan said:
I think these AI tools are just marketing fluff, rebranded features of technologies that already exist, aimed at impressing clueless executives and shareholders.
Bingo!
The content produced is often bland and lacks personality, sent out in such high volumes that it drives people away. Ah yes, the new junk mail of this age.
These tools just take away the direct contacts, which are the most valuable part of marketing. It’s ironic, really.
I know this may be controversial, but looking at both sides, I see huge drawbacks.
@Laken
Big business thinks supply and demand are just about products.
What I’m seeing is an endless flow of poor quality content and a huge demand for creators of that content to be quiet.
I hoped this would open up chances for real quality marketing, but I worry the world will learn to ignore everything, similar to how people reacted to direct mail. Digital content won’t be immune to that fate.
@Neve
Shite? I sense a fellow Brit here. If so, welcome. Regardless, glad to have you.
Stay optimistic like I am. We’re increasing our efforts in publishing and getting great responses in our luxury magazines. A unit is being created just for marketing, covering everything from diversity to renewables. At the end of the day, it’s all about people. Business is about people interacting with people. Anything that gets in the way muddles things up.
AI tools are fantastic for handling repetitive tasks - they’ve saved me a ton of time on email campaigns and content planning. But I agree that the human touch is essential, especially for forming real relationships with clients. The best approach seems to be using AI for background tasks like data analysis, scheduling, and basic outreach while keeping strategy and key client interactions personal. Let’s use these tools to boost our efficiency, not to replace the human side of marketing.
I find Generative AI tools essential for researching and producing written content. However, I’m also aware that the output is often what’s expected and not particularly exceptional. Many so-called AI tools out there are just basic applications and not truly specialized for your niche. I’ve started creating custom GPTs that produce far better results.
Predictive AI is already outperforming most marketers in analyzing data without bias. I trust AI more than I trust myself for recommendations.
It’s a great time to be a marketing leader, but not so great for entry-level employees or freelancers.
At my last job, they swapped content marketing for Jasper AI. The output was unreadable but it achieved the same results. Partly because their strategy was unsophisticated and didn’t use the right keywords to attract people. But this was the first step towards replacing everyone with AI, driven by the marketing leader. She wanted to replace emails written by real people with text from ChatGPT.
@Ash
How were their results, though?
Drake said:
@Ash
How were their results, though?
Not great overall. It was a SaaS company. Only 40% of leads were linked to marketing. Their best-performing content was gated market studies written by a human. The key point is that the 40% number didn’t drop when they switched to AI.
@Ash
I guess that’s more about the natural demand for the SaaS than the effectiveness of any single piece of content.
I’ve been using AI in marketing for years, and while AI tools like lead generation and email verification are game-changers, the human element in sales and marketing is irreplaceable. They help speed up certain tasks, but meaningful connections come from conversations, not automation. At ResultSniper, I’ve integrated some tools to enhance our cold outreach, and they’ve made a big difference, but I’m careful not to rely on them too much. AI should support, not replace, genuine human interaction.
Mostly ineffective except for very specific tasks.
AI has become a core part of our marketing process, streamlining daily activities and driving results. Here’s how my team is using it:
- Email Personalization: The AI tool we use for writing emails scans LinkedIn profiles of our leads to create personalized email content based on social signals. This has brought us some of our best results and improved our email deliverability.
- Automatic Replies for Email Warmup: The software we use for cold outreach automates replies during email warmup, which helps maintain our sender reputation.
- Smart Scheduling: Instead of sending out bulk emails, AI lets us run drip campaigns where emails go out at optimal times, which also enhances deliverability.
I agree; AI can be useful for scaling up, but a person should still play a key role in detailed conversations.
The human element in marketing is irreplaceable. AI can manage repetitive tasks and even personalize content, but for building real connections, nothing beats a genuine conversation. 
+:busts_in_silhouette: = winning combination.