In this op-ed, Amber Groves, creative strategist, Weave, discusses the unexpected benefits of using AI. And no, it isn’t the supercharged efficiency one can get—in fact, it’s much simpler than that. Groves’s use of AI reminded her what’s so great about human-led creativity and ‘slow thinking’.
There is no denying AI is changing everything in marketing, but the real competitive edge isn’t in its speed or scale. It’s in our humanity. The more predictable machines become, the more valuable instinct, originality, and creative risk-taking will become.
I’m aware that my claim of becoming a ‘better human’ may read hyperbolic… but this valuable lesson clicked for me in one of life’s more prosaic moments. I sent my digital servant (ChatGPT) yet another image of my living room to ask for decoration advice, and after receiving yet another response I violently disagreed with, a thought occurred to me. I knew better. I knew what was needed. And in this instance, mine was the only opinion that mattered. Why was I entrusting this trivial, yet important-to-me, task to a system which, for all its speed and scale, is at its core blandly predictable?
I mean predictable, literally… it runs on what has been. Patterns. Probabilities. Past data.
I don’t know what it says about me that the sum quantity of internet-based knowledge continues to fail me on the subject of room décor… but the overwhelming takeaway for me was this… I didn’t expect AI to make me more human. But it has.
I work harder—in different ways
AI has sharpened my output… but it’s also provoked me to be better. To stand out in an AI-saturated world, I had to lean into the things it can’t replicate to create work of real substance: instinct, idiosyncrasy, intuition. I need to interrogate my thinking more robustly, and I never settle on the first idea. Ultimately, I had to become more me… and that’s where the real hard work lies (IYKYK).
I’ve slowed down—where it matters
While I know I’m unable to churn out Tolstoy-length content in an instant, my process of slow deliberation is my act of quiet resistance. Slowness is the new rebellion. I pause more, I reflect more, I ask ‘why?’ more… I noodle more today than I did 5 years ago because this technology has given me the delicious gift of time to really think.
I trust my gut more—even when it feels wrong
AI has a real knack for simulated certainty… but nothing matches the adrenaline rush of the discomfort of true creativity. Leaning into that twitchy feeling when you’re close to something big—with nothing to back it up—is nothing short of exhilarating. Sure, there’s the fear of the ‘big bad wrong’, but without provocation, we stay inert… comfortable, but unchanged.
I’m braver—I take bigger creative chances
With everyone using the same tools, generating the same thoughts, in the same tone, with the same surface-level sheen of intelligence, now is the time to take the chances AI would never take. AI won’t challenge a brief or push at the edges of possibility. It’s too logical, too sane, too safe. Me, on the other hand, I’ve been emboldened to go further… think bigger… push harder…and take the risks that others won’t.
I’m more instinctive—and weird… and irrational… and emotional
In an era of slick coherence, being a little messy feels incredible, and it’s also where the magic lies. Embracing the chaos, the quirks, and unhinged originality that comes with being imperfectly human has become the new superpower. I’ve been working towards being ‘more professional’ my entire career, so it’s almost like therapy to truly embrace the person I am when the Zoom ends.
AI will change our work, but it’s our humanity that will define it. The brands that win won’t be the ones that sound the most polished or efficient; they’ll be the ones that are bolder, stranger, braver, and more deeply human than a machine could ever be.
So, I guess what I’m saying is that I used to think of myself as a ‘creative thinking machine’… but with actual thinking machines in play, my new challenge is to become something more… something that can’t be captured in an endless echo-chamber of regurgitated intelligence. It won’t replace me… it can’t… but it has reminded me what I’m here to do. And that’s the lesson I’d pass on to any marketer staring down the future of an AI-dominated marketing industry.
Now, if I could just make a decision on a rug.
