Every generation is faced with learning new technology. But these days, that technology is coming at us faster, evolving in more sophisticated ways, and seen as both an opportunity and a threat. Looked at one way, generative AI can feel like a replacement for humans. But from a different perspective, generative AI can be a versatile tool that, used correctly, can help you level up your human creativity, original thinking, and emotional appeal. Think of it as an on-demand collaborator. It’s ready, willing and able to learn, but not nuanced enough to know what makes a good idea great —perhaps it can provide a missing perspective that helps build your idea into something bigger. You don’t need to be an AI expert to start exploring. All you need to do is consistently practice what feels manageable for you and soon you’ll see how the micro-efficiencies provided by AI can help you succeed at a macro level.
1. Get going.
Using generative AI can feel intimidating at first. The key is to rethink the way you approach AI in your work, from theory to practice. It’s about becoming comfortable with it, and building muscle memory that allows you to integrate generative AI into your everyday workflow. That mind shift is the most powerful tool in your toolbox as platforms are constantly evolving, and as they become more complex, nothing can replace the resilience, the emotional connections, and the deeply ingrained desire for authenticity that comes from being human.
2. AI needs a human touch.
Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that humans guide the use of AI, not the other way around. Generative AI is only as good as the human that guides and directs it. AI cannot replace your intuition, originality, leadership skills, judgement, or EQ. It depends on your unique humanity and your forward-thinking skills to be effective. The future lies in blending AI’s power with human creativity and emotion to keep people truly engaged and coming back for more. People who participate in real events do so because they value authentic, human face-to-face interactions and engagements. AI can’t experience that. But what it can do is speed up your creative process by leveraging your unique imagination via inputs and prompts. Remember that old saying “garbage in, garbage out”? It’s much the same with AI. Predictable, vanilla inputs will give you boring results and uninspired ideas. Approaching AI in unpredictable, creative ways will help you get interesting outputs that enhance the real-world experience for your audience.
Another reason to keep humans in charge is quality control. You may put a lot of prompts into ChatGPT or Co Pilot and get something that sounds great, but it contains misinformation, dead links, or simply made-up quotes or data. You have to make sure generative AI outputs are not only accurate, but true to your tone and your voice. Keep the “faster” part, but beef up the “better” and “smarter” by fact checking and adding in your personality and firsthand knowledge. In the end, your audience should remember the spark, the memory, the emotion you made them feel—not that you used generative AI along the way.
3. Adapt, adapt, adapt.
Things are constantly changing. New tools are coming out, different platforms are being introduced. Fortunately, us humans are designed to be adaptable. So, adapt! You’re building a mindset, not a tool set. Don’t get hung up on a specific tool or platform. It’s not worth your time to become an expert in an isolated space as they’re always changing, making updates, and improving. As long as you have a strong foundation, you should be able to pick up on new tools and platforms as they are introduced. Play around with different offerings to see which one works best for you. What this mindset will do for you is to help you shift the way you approach problem-solving.
Instead of generating 1 idea or headline, you can generate 30 all at once, all geared to different audiences and leading to different outcomes. Try running bulk idea sprints to see where you net out. You can put in prompts that give you different perspectives, so your ideas are strengthened and stress tested—see how your idea may resonate with account teams, your client, or your strategist. This allows you to start using agentic workflows, where semi-autonomous, built-in agents can help you organize documents, sketch out a campaign flow, or even provide a base of starter ideas. Your first round will probably be pretty generic. But as you continue to deliberate, converse, and define what you want from your AI partner, you may find AI can give you something you hadn’t thought to put in your creative brief, or identify a strategic gap that may inspire a great idea. From there you can really dive in and make it more robust and authentic—more human.
Ready to start building your new mindset now?
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