21. Where does AI belong in the world of creativity?

I have been asked, by previous bosses, why we can’t just use AI to write 400 blog posts per month and thereby “win” SEO.

I have been asked to have AI ghostwrite entire public-facing personas for company ambassadors.

I have been asked to let AI run our future creative projects, to make images, and to write copy so we can have fewer people on our team who do this kind of thing for their jobs. 

I have been asked to use AI in all sorts of expansive, radical, or zealous ways by all sorts of managers and bosses and CEOs, some of whom mean well and some of whom see a quick way to save a buck. It’s a bit disturbing, and quite scary. AI, as the techno-futurists say, is the unavoidable future. Frankly, it is more and more of our present, already. 

AI can do so many creative things these days – from copywriting to image editing, from blog posts to photoshoots. 

What does this mean for us as creative marketers? 

It’s a question I find myself asking more and more. Sometimes I’ll ask it rhetorically, while reading an apocalyptic headline (that for all I know was written by AI!). Once, I asked ChatGPT, just to be a snot. But I’m also asking it for reals, especially as our marketing friends face the reality of a job landscape reshaped by AI and as we at Bonfire consider the implications of AI on storytelling, branding, creativity, and art – things we hold so dear. 

Where does creativity belong in a world of AI? We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we do have some theories. Here are some ideas and directions for how to think about the intersection – and the opportunities – where creativity and AI meet. 

1 - What we fear we’ll lose, Mythbusters edition

When I talk to people about the collision of AI and marketing, there are mainly two casualties that come out: 

1. Losing my job in a creative field – writing or design, especially

2. Losing the ownership and autonomy over my creative work

Both are really big deals! Job security is a major issue in today’s workforce, even before the threat of AI (hello, macroeconomic upheaval), and we at Bonfire are firm believers that a meaningful creative practice at work leads to more job satisfaction and general life fulfillment. 

These fears were much more acute for me a few months back when AI was at a fever pitch. But now that we have a better understanding of how the landscape might shake out, I’ve seen ways to assuage some of these the-sky-is-falling fears. 

First off, jobs in creative fields are not extinct; they’re just evolving. On LinkedIn’s list of the fastest-growing jobs in 2024, many of the top 25 jobs have a creative marketing bent. External communications manager are storytellers; influencer managers and partnership managers are relationship-builders. And there are fast-growing roles in sustainability and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which show a path forward for creatives who can specialize in topics that have taken on added importance today. 

Secondly, businesses are beginning to turn their eyes back toward creative campaign thinking, slowly but surely. Superpath CEO Jimmy Daly, who runs one of the largest content communities, recently shared that creative differentiation is at the top of the list for many companies in 2024. 

2 - Using AI as a catalyst for creative work

AI is a tool. 

Creatives are great at using tools!

Of course, the latest AI tools represent one of the biggest leaps forward in technology and production, maybe ever, but rather than see these inventions as things to dread, we can see them as things to embrace: We have even more tools in our creative toolbox now. 

Sixty percent of workers are either already using AI at work or will be soon. (Interestingly, more than half of workers claim that their job satisfaction is higher with AI than without.) 

There’s no need to treat creativity and AI as mutually exclusive. Creative projects can gain a lot from using AI to boost productivity and increase ideas. Here are just a few ways we’ve seen this in action: 

• Defeat the tyranny of the blank page. Use AI to create first drafts or outlines on various topics that you can then tweak and shape so that the content fits your perspective and your voice.

• Brainstorm lists of ideas, or riff on ideas together. Give AI a prompt and see what it can come up with. You’d be surprised what other ideas it may spark. Or, flip things around and give AI your list of ideas and see what else it might come up with. 

• Think bigger and at scale. With AI, you have the equivalent of many, many more hands at your disposal to do production-oriented tasks that might not have previously been possible. 

For this last point, consider a creative campaign pulled off by Nutella, which used AI to create seven million one-of-a-kind Nutella labels based on twelve human-made patterns.

All seven million of these one-of-a-kind jars sold out as soon as they hit the market. 👏

Prior to AI, would it even have been possible to conceive of an idea so humongous? Unlikely. New technology allows us to do some incredibly creative things (see: faux out-of-home ads), but it also enables us to be more and more ambitious in our creative thinking.

3 - There is no substitute for authenticity

So much of the marketing messaging we see today is homogenous, and AI is unlikely to make that any better. In fact, it might make it worse! Taking the typical output of AI-generated content and images will very often lead to a message that lacks a clear and differentiated voice. 

The problem – nay, the opportunity – is that clear and differentiated voices are the ones that will stand out and resonate the most right now! 

For this reason, there will always be a place for creativity in the world of AI. The two can very much live together in harmony, as we’ve seen above: creatives embrace AI as a tool, and our jobs and day-to-days evolve toward what’s most important right here, right now. Along with this, the scaffolding around our new state of work will always be authenticity. No one can tell your story like you can. And this matters more now than ever before. 

Some of the most popular marketing channels in 2024 are the channels where authentic voices can really shine: 

• Video content

• Newsletters and longform

• Personal brands on social media, especially LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads

• Influencers and partnerships

Expect to see AI be used as an element of these channels, but expect to see it as a supplement, a way to tell stories better. Because the stories themselves will be the focus. As they should be!

For instance, many of you may have noticed that we use AI for our Bonfire newsletter — not to come up with the stories or write the posts but to add to our storytelling universe through some unique artwork. creates a new featured image each week in Midjourney, placing elements of the office in the wilderness or vice versa. It’s bizarre and surreal and we love it. (We hope you enjoy it, too.) The stories remain the focal point of our newsletters, but thanks to AI, we have a creative way to take our original, authentic stories one step further.

Have you hugged your AI today

OK, so maybe we’re not yet at the point where we creatives are feeling super affectionate toward AI.

But at the least, we can now see that a future with AI is not all doom and gloom. There are real possibilities for us in our careers, in our day-to-day routines, and in the amazing, unique, authentic work that we can make alongside AI.

What does AI look like for you with your job? We’d love to hear your stories — good, bad, or otherwise — about what you’ve experienced so far and what you might try next.

For more…

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And let us know if you’d like to go deeper with us to talk about you and creativity. We do:

• 1:1 coaching and mentorship

• Team workshops and consulting for marketing and leadership

• Speaking and appearances on podcasts and at events

Say hi anytime.

Kumbaya,Shannon & Kevan