If you’re a marketer scrolling through LinkedIn right now, you’ve probably seen the headlines. “AI Will Replace 300 Million Jobs by 2030.” “Marketing Teams Cut by 30% Due to AI.” “Is Your Job Next?“
Take a breath. Close the doom-scrolling tab. Let’s talk about what’s actually happening.
I’m Natalie, co-founder of The Better Content Club, and I’ve been watching marketers panic about AI for the past year. I get it. When 58% of marketing agencies using AI content assistants have reduced their copywriting staff by at least 20%, it’s easy to think the robots are coming for all of us.
But here’s what the scary headlines don’t tell you: AI isn’t replacing marketers. It’s replacing tasks. And if you learn to work with AI rather than against it, you’ll become the marketer who’s impossible to replace.
Let’s start with the facts, not the fear-mongering.
Yes, 37% of companies using AI acknowledged that the technology had replaced certain positions in 2023. But dig deeper, and you’ll find that 90% of companies planning to use AI in 2024 stated they were likely to hire more workers as a result, with 96% favouring candidates who can demonstrate hands-on experience working with AI.
The marketing industry specifically tells an even more encouraging story. Marketing and advertising lead AI adoption with 37% of companies already using generative AI, but only 4% of surveyed marketing leaders felt that AI will lead to increased job losses.
What’s happening instead? Job transformation, not job elimination.
"The majority of experts believe that AI is more likely to transform, rather than replace, marketing jobs entirely."
AI tools are excellent research assistants and terrible strategists. They can help you write faster, but they can’t help you think better.
That’s why we have developed the HUMAN approach to AI content creation. Because the clue’s in the name – the human element is what makes content work.
The whole team has been using AI for a while now to learn its pros, cons and limitations, and so we have created a simple framework that lets you harness AI’s power whilst keeping your job security intact.
H – Hook (Start with your angle)
U – Understand (Define your audience)
M – Message (Clarify your key point)
A – Assist (Let AI help, don’t replace)
N – Natural (Edit to match your voice)
Before you even open ChatGPT, you need to know what makes your content worth reading. AI can help you explore an angle, but it can’t create one for you.
Example:
AI doesn’t know your customers as well as you do. The more specific you are about who you’re talking to, the better AI can help you speak their language. This is where your messaging and strategy documents can support your AI use.
Example prompt: “I’m writing for solo marketing managers at B2B companies with 10-50 employees. They’re overwhelmed, have no budget, and need practical solutions they can implement immediately.”
This is where most people go wrong. They ask AI to write something without being clear about what they actually want to say. You only get out what you put in. If you’re not confident in your briefing abilities, head to our free briefing training module to get you on the right track.
Example:
Let’s talk about why you should actually be excited about AI. Salesforce research shows that marketers predict AI will save them 5 hours per week – that’s over a month of time saved per year.
But here’s the crucial bit: they’re not working fewer hours. They’re doing more strategic work and allowing them time to be creative rather than spending hours researching on Google for a relevant stat to back up their points.
Here’s the reality check: 71% of marketers expect generative AI will help eliminate busy work and allow them to focus more on strategic work. And strategic work is much harder to automate.
The marketers who are at risk aren’t the ones using AI – they’re the ones ignoring it.
83% of marketers using AI reported increased productivity, and 79% highlight AI’s role in streamlining processes and boosting productivity. These aren’t people losing their jobs – they’re people becoming indispensable and reducing the mental load at the same time.
The question isn’t whether AI will impact marketing; it already has. The question is: Will you be the marketer who uses AI to become more valuable, or the one who gets left behind?
Salesforce reports that 39% of marketers don’t know how to use generative AI safely, and 43% don’t know how to get the most value out of it. This skills gap is creating an opportunity for those who learn to use AI effectively.
The HUMAN approach isn’t just about using AI tools – it’s about using them strategically whilst maintaining what makes you irreplaceable as a marketer.
If you want to learn the complete framework, including:
Why not undertake our comprehensive AI content creation training? You’ll get step-by-step guidance on implementing the HUMAN framework because here’s the thing: AI isn’t the enemy. Ignorance is.
The marketers who thrive in the next five years won’t be the ones who avoided AI. They’ll be the ones who learned to use it as a tool whilst keeping their human edge sharp.
Are you ready to be one of them?
