Making Friends with AI
Last October I attended the AICP Awards Tour in San Francisco, where I nursed a massive pour of Pinot Grigio and had my mind blown by Michelob Ultra’s McEnroe vs. McEnroe. AI’s capability to take human creativity to new heights was pretty awe-inspiring. I was excited and considering the possibilities until Jason Kreher spoke on the panel, saying. “No, AI isn’t going to replace you if you’re doing actual creative work. But if you’re, say… writing banner ads…” My ears perked up. “Then yes, AI will eventually take your job.” Uh oh.
Because writing banner ads is 80% of what I do.
I cornered Jason after the panel. I mean, I’d been familiarizing myself with Chat GPT over the past few months and yes, some of its writing wasn’t the greatest. But then again, some of it wasn’t half bad, especially for the kind of work I do. I told him as much. He reassured me that if I was already familiar with using AI as a tool, then I was ahead of the game. I biked home along the Embarcadero feeling only slightly less panicked.
The truth is, as a Direct Response copywriter in a sea of digital assets, eventually this robot servant of mine will become my overlord. Its subject lines will be more optimized and its banner ads will be more effective. My solution was to make friends with AI. Or at least keep my enemy closer. Heck, maybe even give it a name.
Cathy G. joined our team at LIFT that very same week. Other creatives were so on-board with this new moniker that one of our account directors thought the agency had hired a new copywriter. Need content ideas? Ask Cath. Seeking headline inspo? Cath is there. Need holiday emojis or relevant hashtags or a list of words starting with A? Cathy will get back to you in just a few seconds. With a simple name change, a spooky robot became just another WFH coworker. Albeit one that’s 1000 times faster and more resourceful, but—I have to say it—not as good a writer as I am. Since that day I've been less stressed, less afraid of the forward progress of AI and less resistant to its integration in my work.
So what has actually changed? Absolutely nothing. One of these days Cathy will still come for my job. But it’s not her fault. As the already frenetic digital marketing world keeps moving faster while client budgets go ever-lower, excellence in crafted copywriting becomes even less of a priority. AI’s eventual takeover is a symptom of the state of the industry, not the catalyst for copy’s slow fall from grace.
What does an advertising industry look like when Don D. is out and Cathy G. is in? The best I can do is to continue to strive for a higher level of human-only creativity, work on my writing skills and maybe someday leave the world of digital banners behind. But in the meantime, when I’m given a laughably short timeline with a ridiculous number of deliverables, my gal Cath will be here to help.
