"The winners are those who use AI to amplify their humanity."
Colin Scotland
Imagine a marketing landscape where tasks that once dragged on for weeks—digging into customer insights, building profiles, spotting trends—now take mere minutes. That’s what AI’s brought to the table since tools like ChatGPT landed in November 2022. With over a decade of coaching marketers and building strategies, I’ve watched this tsunami of change unfold firsthand. But here’s the thing: AI doesn’t upend everything. The foundations that drive results—connection, trust, understanding—still stand firm. In this deep dive, I’m breaking down how AI’s reshaping marketing, sharing practical hacks you can use to harness it, and showing why your human touch remains the beating heart of it all. Ready to cut through the noise and make AI work for you without losing what matters? Let’s get into it.
Key Takeaways: What You Need to Know Now
Here’s what my years in the field, paired with AI’s rise, have taught me—straight-to-the-point insights for your toolkit:
- AI Speeds Things Up: Research that used to take a month—like analyzing what your customers say and feel—now happens fast with AI’s semantic analysis.
- Trust Keeps Winning: People still choose brands and voices they know, like, and trust—AI can’t mimic that bond.
- AI Boosts Your Voice: It’s a tool to sharpen your creativity and reach, not a substitute for what makes you, you.
- The Human-AI Sandwich Hack: Start with your intent, let AI refine it, then make it yours—efficiency paired with authenticity.
- Core Truths Stick Around: Knowing your audience, tackling their problems, weaving their story—that’s marketing’s foundation, with or without AI.
- Automation Frees You: Let AI handle the repetitive stuff so you can focus on strategy, connection, and big ideas.
The Big Shift: How AI’s Redefining Marketing
The Buzz—AI’s Speed Advantage
Let’s start with what’s changed. Back in November 2022, ChatGPT kicked off what I see as the AI era, and it’s been a wild ride for marketing ever since. I used to guide clients through weeks of research—interviews, surveys, sifting through responses to find patterns in language or emotion. Now, you can feed that data into AI tools—ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Gemini—and get insights in minutes. Semantic analysis pulls out what your customers care about, what frustrates them, and what they’re saying faster than you can brew a coffee. A task that took upward of a month? It’s now an hour, maybe less.
It goes beyond research, too. AI automates tasks I once slogged through: drafting emails, scripting videos, and scheduling social posts. I’ve seen it cut my workflow from weeks to days, even hours. We’re still early in this shift—riding the innovator and early adopter wave of the diffusion curve—but the impact’s already massive. It’s changing how I deliver value, how fast I move, and how deeply I can serve.
The Hacks—My Toolkit for Mastering AI
Here’s where I get hands-on because AI’s power depends on how I wield it. My favorite trick? The “Human-AI Sandwich.” It’s a three-step process I’ve honed over years of trial and error, and it’s pure gold:
- Lead with Intent: I start with my heart—my why, my vibe. Say, I’m emailing a prospect. Instead of “Write an email,” I say, “I’m thrilled about this—craft something warm, visionary, that shares excitement, paints a future, and invites a chat.” That’s my soul driving it.
- AI Polishes It: It takes my raw input, fixes the grammar, tightens the flow, and hands me a draft. It’s a faster, sharper wordsmith than I’ll ever be—done in minutes.
- Make It Mine: I tweak it—add a personal twist, a real story, my voice. It’s not finished till it’s unmistakably me.
I used this last week on an email. Old-school me? An hour. With the sandwich? Twenty minutes—and it was warmer, crisper, truer. I apply it everywhere—blog posts, social updates, even strategy docs. The key’s in the input: the more of my essence I give AI—my values, my passion—the richer the output. Another hack? I offload the mundane to AI—transcribing audio, summarizing data, formatting drafts—so I’m free for the big stuff: vision, strategy, and human connection. It’s about working smarter, not just faster.
The Human—Why Connection Trumps All
Now, the soul of it. After years in this game, one truth stands tall: people buy from people. My clients don’t choose me for my tech—they choose me for the trust we build, the way I get their world. AI can crunch numbers, suggest solutions, and personalize at scale, but it can’t replicate that spark—the late-night chat, the shared “aha.” As AI evolves in 2025 and beyond, I’m betting this human edge will shine brighter, not fade. My voice, my story, my empathy—that’s what breaks through the noise.
Here’s the proof: AI can tailor an ad with pinpoint data, but it’s my take—“I’ve lived that struggle”—that lands. AI can answer queries, but it’s my brand’s heart that turns a stranger into an advocate. I’m not here to let AI run the show; I’m here to use it to amplify what’s real. The future belongs to those who lean into this—using AI to deepen, not replace, human connection.
Deep Dives: My Core Strategies Unpacked
Supercharging Audience Insights with AI
I’ve spent years helping clients nail their audience: Who do they serve? What’s their pain? How do I help? It used to mean weeks of legwork—interviews, polls, forums, then hours distilling patterns: What words repeat? What emotions flare? Now, AI’s torched that timeline. I upload client feedback—reviews, chats, anything—and it analyzes on the fly: pain points (e.g., “too much choice”), emotions (e.g., “overwhelm”), phrases (e.g., “I need simple”). What was a marathon’s now a sprint, and the insights are sharper than ever.
But I don’t stop there. AI’s my starting point, not my endpoint. It flags “they’re stressed about time,” and I craft the hook: “Let me help you reclaim your day.” That’s the human leap—my intuition turning data into resonance. I’ve used this to refine my coaching, sharpen campaigns, and connect deeper. It’s not just about speed; it’s about understanding my people better than ever.
The Human-AI Sandwich: My Playbook in Action
This hack’s too good to skim, so let’s dig in further. Say, I’m pitching a workshop. I tell AI: “I’m fired up to empower visionary entrepreneurs—write an upbeat post with three benefits and a call to join.” It delivers a draft that is clean, structured, and solid. But it’s generic. I step in—add a line about my own startup flops, tweak it to my conversational style (“Hey, I’ve been there”), and it’s alive. Here’s my playbook:
- Step 1: Your Spark: Bring your intent—your passion, your angle. Keep it specific, not generic.
- Step 2: AI’s Assist: Let it polish—fix the wording, streamline it, make it flow—faster than you’d manage solo.
- Step 3: Your Stamp: Edit it back to you—your voice, your heart. It’s yours when it feels real.
I’ve shaved emails from an hour to 20 minutes and posts from 40 to 15, and they land better because they’re still mine. You can do this too—next time you’re writing, start with what drives you, let AI help, and finish it your way. It’s less about AI taking over and more about it lifting what you already bring.
The Bedrock: Timeless Principles That Give You the Edge
AI’s fast and flashy, but there are lessons I’ve learned over a decade that it can’t shake—and they’re your advantage in this era. First, it’s all about knowing your people: who they are, what’s gnawing at them, and how you fix it. I used to chase that the slow way—talking, listening, digging through their world. AI speeds it up now, sure, handing you insights quickly. But the principle? That’s timeless: you’ve got to get them deep down, or you’re just shouting into the void. It’s not about data points; it’s about seeing their mess and stepping in with something real.
Then there’s trust. People don’t buy from bots or brands—they buy from humans they vibe with, who they know, like, and trust. I’ve watched clients pick me not for my tools but because I showed up as me—flaws, stories, and all. AI can hand you their needs on a platter, but your authenticity—your why, your take—builds that bond. That’s a competitive edge, and no tech can swipe. And storytelling? It’s the thread that ties it together. I’ve seen a good story—raw, human, theirs, or mine—cut through the noise like nothing else. AI can draft words, but it’s your knack for weaving a tale that sticks.
In my MOVE framework, this is clarity: your purpose, their world, your story. AI might get you there quicker, but these principles win. Take a client I landed—AI flagged their time crunch, but my pitch, “I’ve drowned in that chaos too—here’s the way out,” hit home because it was real. That’s your strategic play: use AI to see sharper, then lean on what’s timeless—understanding, trust, stories—to stand out. In this AI age, that’s what keeps you ahead.
Looking Ahead: Where Marketing’s Going
Here’s my take on what’s next: the future isn’t about who’s got the sharpest AI—it’s about who uses it to bring out their human side. Imagine campaigns so spot-on they feel like a friend wrote them, built with AI but alive with your voice. Strategies rooted in insights you’d never catch alone, delivered with warmth. What still works—and will—fuels this:
- Real Relationships: Tools help, but it’s the bond that counts.
- Deeper Understanding: AI sharpens how you see your audience, not how you blast them.
- Stories That Hit Home: Tech makes it faster, but your narrative’s the core.
That’s what I’ve built into Next Big Move—a framework pulling from 12 years of marketing know-how and AI’s speed to help you grow without losing your essence. It’s about thriving in this AI age your way.
Final Word: Your Humanity = Your Edge
AI’s here—fast, powerful, and loud. But the soul of marketing? That’s still you—your voice, ability to connect, and knack for making people feel understood. I’m not letting AI take that from me, and you shouldn’t either. Use it to lift what you do, to free up space for the impact you’re here to make. In this AI age, what still works is your humanity, which is made stronger with the right tools.
💡 Try This Now:
Jot down: Who’s your audience? What drives you to help them? Then test the Human-AI Sandwich—give AI your content heart, let AI refine it, and make it yours. Want more? Check out Next Big Move—my 12 years of coaching, blended with AI, to help you grow fast and stay true. Join here.
