Nope…it certainly doesn’t appear to be.
But I do understand the temptation to use it. If you’re selling homes, you can either spend a lot of time or money creating a piece of content for your brand, or you can type a prompt into ChatGPT to generate a flyer for your next promo. The traditional way costs significant time and/or money, and the AI way costs a few seconds, and looks “good enough.”
Unfortunately, humans (at least on social media) ain’t buyin’ it. It may look good enough to the creator, but it does not look good enough to the user.
Check out the chart below. This is from NP Digital, a leading eight figure ad agency out of CA. They have clients ranging from small, family owned local businesses to Fortune 50 companies across the globe. Needless to say, they’ve got the data.
When it comes to likes and saves, human generated content outperforms AI generated content.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is not an anti AI piece. AI is an incredible tool that can do incredible things, and we use it every day. But just because a tool can do some things very well, does not mean that tool can do EVERYTHING well. AI is a tool in every marketer’s tool belt, but it is not the only tool in the tool belt.
Humanity and creativity are two things that AI does not do well, and that is what we see in the chart above. It can analyze data and write code like no one’s business, but when it comes to creative, it can oftentimes fall short.
The take away? When it comes to advertising, for now at least, humans prefer to engage with humans. People online want to engage with other people online, not machines. If you need a video for your social page, take a video of yourself walking through a home. Resist the temptation to have big foot or a monkey do it on an AI video. Big Foot may be easier, but not better.
Now on to part 2…
We need to talk about AI sentiment. AI’s got a PR problem, and it seems to be getting worse, not better.
If you look at the chart below, you’ll see a chart from the Pew Research Center’s most study on public sentiment in the US regarding AI and its impact on society. Only 16% of U.S. adults surveyed think AI will have a positive impact on society, as opposed to 40% who think it will be negative, while 44% being neutral or unsure.
Does this mean you shouldn’t use AI in your business? Of course not. It does mean, however, that you have to be aware of how your buyers potentially feel about the technology. The odds are that they either feel negative or neutral towards, with a small percentage feeling positive towards.
Overt AI in your consumer-facing content invites people to transfer their skepticism about AI onto your brand. That’s the last association you want attached to your name. Keep your AI use pointed at improving the buyer experience instead: better value, better service, and better information when they need it. Don’t just use AI to reduce cost and improve the bottom line. Use AI to improve the experience, which will then improve the bottom line.
AI is arguably one of the most incredible (and expensive 😁) technological advancements of the modern era. It’s a tool that every brand can leverage to do better business. However, it is one tool. It is not all the tools. You still need efficient systems, great people, an unforgettable customer experience, consistent attention, and everything else that made a brand successful before AI. AI will not fix a broken business, but it can make a great business outperform the competition.