Artificial intelligence is energizing, fast, and impressively efficient. It can supercharge content research, streamline brainstorming, and even help optimize deployment across blogs, social posts, and campaigns. When used wisely, it’s a serious asset.
But AI doesn’t speak “you.” It doesn’t understand the essence of your brand, the nuance in your tone, or the emotional connection your audience expects. It’s brilliant at patterns, but not at empathy. The Barrel O’Monkeyz team brings the human creativity, storytelling finesse, and brand intimacy that only experience, knowhow, and thoughtful listening can deliver.
Here are some thoughts on where AI shines and where it falters, so you can see why human touch is more than necessary—it’s a marketing must have.
AI Accelerates Content Creation
BOM uses AI tools like Copilot and ChatGPT to spark creativity, not replace it. It’s like having a well-read intern who works lightning-fast but still needs senior guidance to nail tone and strategy.
- Rapid Research: AI can process thousands of sources and deliver concise summaries in seconds. It’s great for exploring trends or pulling initial data on niche topics, saving hours of online searching.
- Idea Generation: From blog topics to titles to email subject lines, AI is a great generator of possibilities, suggesting what “could be said” while human expertise decides what “should be said,” based on instinct, brand insight, and creative chops.
- Time-Saving Drafts: For routine content like FAQs, product descriptions, or generic outlines, AI can help speed things up dramatically.
A Tool, Not a Replacement
Like any modern productivity tool—think Google, Photoshop, MS Word—AI is only as smart as the person guiding it. Misaligned tone? Cliché overload? Cultural insensitivity? Such missteps often stem from overreliance or under-direction. The failure lies in expecting a tool to do a job that calls for taste, empathy, and lived experience—something only a “real” person can provide.
AI doesn’t understand customer mood swings, brand quirks, or the layered brand storytelling that moves people to click, share, and buy. Here’s where human skill picks up the slack:
- Voice & Tone: AI might sound professional, casual, or quirky—but “your brand voice” isn’t a checkbox. It’s a feeling. BOM listens to clients—we learn and internalize your brand personality, delivering work that feels like you speaking.
- Emotional Resonance: AI can list benefits. BOM crafts emotional connections tied to the “pain points” of why your target customer wants or needs your product or service.
- Strategic Adaptation: AI doesn’t understand timing or cultural nuance. The BOM team adapts content and strategy across platforms, according to trends, and with audience expectations in mind to create timely, resonant messages.
Four Real-World AI Content Fails
Even the best AI has its stumbles. Here are a few recent AI fails of note:
Tone-Deaf Sympathy Post—A major retailer used AI to draft a sympathy message after a global humanitarian crisis. The phrase, “We hope you’re thriving in these challenging times,” failed to recognize that “thriving” felt inappropriate when readers were grieving, displaced, or under duress. It was the kind of misfire that underscored how AI lacks situational awareness and emotional intelligence unless guided by human oversight.
Overused Clichés in Thought Leadership—A Software as a Service (SaaS) company published an AI-produced blog titled “Unlocking Potential with Cutting-Edge Solutions.” It was riddled with vague phrases such as “Revolutionizing the industry,” “Driving innovation at scale,” “Empowering teams with seamless integration,” and other trendy buzzwords and jargon. Needless to say, it resulted in little or no reader engagement.
Misunderstood Cultural Reference—AI once suggested a Cinco de Mayo campaign for a B2B financial services company that used sombrero emojis, tacos, and party poppers—symbols often associated with the holiday in pop culture. But the campaign lacked any real connection to Mexican heritage, business relevance, or audience sensitivity. The result? A tone-deaf post that prompted internal backlash and a quick takedown.
Generic Email Nurture Sequence—A real estate firm decided to streamline its lead nurturing by using AI to generate a five-part email sequence. On paper, the idea sounded great: automate outreach, save time, and stay top-of-mind with prospects. But in execution, the emails were painfully generic. Each one started with “Hi there!” and ended with “Best regards.” There was no personalization, no local flavor, no insights, and no real engagement. Instead of building trust, the firm came across as impersonal and disconnected—exactly the opposite of what it wanted.
Let’s Get Started
At Barrel O’Monkeyz, we embrace tech—but we also realize there’s a difference between content and connection. AI can generate words. BOM builds meaning. We ask “How will your audience feel” after engaging with your content, not just “What information will they read?”
Contact Barrel O’Monkeyz today by phone or email to schedule a free consultation. Together, we’ll explore your goals, develop a plan, finalize the details, and hit the ground running to turn ideas into action.
