When Facebook (now Meta) launched, where, if you recall, we received a mail referred from a friend suggesting we join this shiny-new-toy platform, we did so with much curiosity and glee.
By the end of 2004, it had reached one million active users, and by that year’s end, it boasted six million monthly active users. Of course, these numbers are a snail’s pace compared to today’s adoption of new tech but therein lies the insight.
The need for speed – for example, by 2024, TikTok had 2.05 billion registered users worldwide – illustrates that new digital platforms and tools pop up every now and again, and we humans, by trial and error, embrace them.
The ‘space race’
Right now there is much agreement that we are sitting on the precipice of a new digital dawn, if we’re not knee-deep in it already. November 22, 2023 blew up the internet. The world’s first Large Language Model (LLM) OpenAI’s ChatGPT landed on our human shores.
ChatGPT changed life overnight, and marketers and folks in general spent a lot of that year’s holiday using it to create silly poems, write stories or simply pull together a host of topic-related search links. It was a game-changer (especially as Google had been asleep at the wheel and didn’t see it coming fast enough).
While it had Lamba and Facebook Gallactica, they either weren’t ready to launch yet in 2023 or, more importantly the expectations were too steep. Newbie OpenAI could get away with a basic version of its revolutionary tool; if Google had launched and failed we’d be seeing a very different picture, I posit.
From panic to integration
With the launch hype out of the way and 2024 sending everyone from across the marketers to CEOs spectrum into a tailspin, AI-based tools and processes like ChatGPT have mushroomed.
There was an initial scramble for businesses to build their own AI or at least use it to make what they do work better, to keep up with the competition, but that panic seems to be subsiding somewhat now.
Why? Humans are realising they cannot be replaced by AI, they need to integrate with it. Despite the buzz, the future of marketing isn’t about replacing humans with machines. It’s about amplifying human potential –creativity, empathy, intuition – through powerful new tools.
It’s about making space for marketers to do what they do best: connect deeply with people.
If there’s one thing the AI revolution is teaching us, it’s that progress is happening at a pace that can be both exhilarating and overwhelming.
Across industries, marketing stands out as one of the most visibly transformed, where artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we work, create and connect. But that a human lens is a necessarily filter to apply over AI efforts.
AI encourages speaking up IRL
While AI is helping marketing teams move faster, test smarter, and scale creativity like never before, without trust and strong team culture, those gains can stall. As MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart recently shared, “The best-performing marketing teams have something more than budget or headcount; they have trust.”
According to the MMA’s latest MOSTT (Marketing Organisation Structure Think Tank) research, organisations with high psychological safety launched 27% more campaigns on time and ran 2.3x more test-and-learn iterations each quarter.
In one case, a first-year analyst saved millions by catching a major duplication error – because their team created a space where speaking up, in real life, was not only allowed, but it was also encouraged and expected.
This is the kind of culture AI should be reinforcing: one that empowers junior and senior voices, unlocks innovation, and supports fearless experimentation.
How AI amplifies marketing’s human truths
- Automation for impact: AI handles the grunt work – data analysis, testing, segmentation – freeing up marketers to focus on insight, storytelling, and strategy. From Adobe Sensei to Google’s and Meta’s performance tools, the goal is not to replace us, but to give us time back for higher-value thinking.
- Storytelling at scale: Authentic stories connect us. While AI can generate content, the magic still lies in emotion and cultural fluency – things only people can truly bring. Used well, AI helps marketers scale their narratives, tailor them, and bring them to audiences faster, without diluting their soul.
- Building a culture for AI to thrive: Tech alone doesn’t drive transformation. People do. CMOs need to build trust-first environments where curiosity and challenge are rewarded. Because no algorithm will question the brief – or catch a million-dollar mistake. That’s up to us.
- The human touch: Humans naturally possess unique abilities like empathy, emotional intelligence, can understand and interpret complex social cues that AI, at this point in time, may not fully replicate. Such human intrinsics are critical for building meaningful connections that have longevity, providing compassionate care, and engendering a sense of community where the “human touch” will remain invaluable.
The golden AI opportunity
It’s not about automation. It’s about elevation. It’s scaling creativity, speeding up learning and unlocking new growth. AI should be reinforcing a culture that empowers junior and senior voices, unlocks innovation and supports fearless experimentation but only if we build cultures that support human input, vulnerability and collaboration.
Let’s not forget our customers at this time: over half of consumers were found to prefer a human over a bot when needing customer service. Easy, quick tasks supported by bots are useful but issues that are more complex still command a human at the end of the line (phone, email, WhatsApp or in-person).
At the end of the current day (we do not know exactly what will happen in the future), if a business owner or marketing head finds that their team isn’t speaking up, with human thought and curiosity, growth is being left on the table. And if senior teams are not making room for AI to support, not stifle, the human spark, the bigger picture is missing.
The nowism of marketing isn’t more machine. It’s more meaning. And AI, used well, helps us get there faster.
Sarah Utermark is country director of MMA South Africa. She was previously director of brand and partnerships at Opera. She graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with a Bachelor of Science in sports science and marketing management. For more on the MMA ALC click HERE.
