The robots are coming for your job

Common questions about AI

AI is everywhere. It’s creeping into workflows, conversations and boardroom strategies. But there’s still a lot of confusion about what it can—and can’t—do for businesses, especially when it comes to copywriting, marketing and comms.

Here are some of the most common questions I get asked.

Can we replace our content team or writer with AI?

In short: unlikely.

AI tools rely on effective prompts. That means you need to know exactly what you want out before you put anything in. If writing isn’t your strong suit, you probably don’t have the process or the vocabulary to get there.

Yes, the output might read okay. It might even manage to localise to your region. But without strong editing skills, a knowledge of context and tone, and the ability to test and tweak, it’s very hard to get something genuinely valuable.

AI isn’t a replacement for human writers. It’s more like an enthusiastic intern who sometimes sounds smart but gets the details wrong.

So what can we do with AI?

In short: Quite a bit.

AI can be a useful tool if you know where it adds value (and where it doesn’t). For example, you can:

• Generate starting ideas when the blank page feels daunting.

• Use it to proofread or edit what you’ve already written.

• Analyse your copy for tone, length or readability.

• Create imagery and concepts.

• Spark creative prompts to help you think differently.

But it won’t solve every marketing problem you have. It won’t give you strategy, it won’t understand your audience better than you do, and it won’t fight for your brand values.

Remember that whatever you put in there is public. The paid versions offer more privacy but there are no guarantees it will stay that way.

Is AI ethical?

The short answer: mostly not.

Yes, there are amazing organisations and researchers using AI for good. But we can’t ignore the bad and the outright ugly.

Training and powering AI systems uses huge amounts of water and energy. The counter argument that it uses less than other things is all well and good, but this is additional water and energy that we weren't using before. And our planet's resources were already stretched thin.

AI is also fuelled by biased data meaning the hard work done on recognising and correcting unconscious bias risks being undone, stitch by stitch.

And then there’s the long-term picture: jobs, privacy, security, ownership of ideas. These are questions no one has fully answered yet.

Do you use AI?

The short answer: occasionally

Sometimes I use AI. I'm always transparent about what I use it for and when. I never input sensitive data into it.

I use it for:

• Things I can't do quickly, like meal planning and creating placeholder imagery in decks.

I don't use it for:

• Research

• Writing

• Editing

Final thoughts

AI isn’t the enemy, but it isn’t the magic bullet either. Treat it as a tool in the box—not the whole toolbox. Use it to spark, refine and challenge ideas, but don’t rely on it to be your voice.

Because your voice—the human one, with all its quirks, questions and context—still matters more than ever.