Ever scroll through your LinkedIn feed, open what looked like an interesting article, and think, “Hold up—haven’t I read this before?” You’re not imagining it. This creeping sense of déjà vu is real, and AI-generated content is the prime suspect. Initially, AI felt like a creative revolution, promising fresh content at breakneck speed. But now, with everyone using these tools, online content is beginning to blur into one indistinguishable hum, making it nearly impossible to escape the robotic din clamouring for your attention.
The problem stems from the very advantage that made AI popular—its accessibility. These days, anyone can whip up a blog post, social update, or even flashy AI-generated visuals with almost no effort. Content creation is so democratised, even your grandmother can churn out content between her morning macramé sessions. The consequence of this is plain to see: mediocrity is now freely available, and everyone is noticing.
In fact, research from Click Consult reveals that 63%1 of readers can recognise AI-written content, a figure that’s likely climbing by the minute. Even more troubling is the 34%2 who would hesitate to buy from a brand upon learning AI is behind their content production. Clearly, audiences are becoming sensitive to, and sceptical about, mass-produced creative.
As AI-generated outputs saturate our digital world, the need for original creative content is rising fast. What will it take to cut through the background noise and stand out in world stuffed with cut-and-paste content?
Redefining the creative process
Through AI, computers and software have evolved from obedient number-crunchers into intuitive, creative thinkers. They’re no longer just calculators executing code—instead, they’ve become sophisticated reasoning engines, capable of drawing creative conclusions from vast datasets. In many ways, this mirrors how humans think and generate ideas.
Consider how humans create: we absorb information and experiences from books, art, TV shows, and countless conversations. These fragments simmer in our subconscious and inform how we think––we predict events, visualise images, and explore ideas through the lens of our collected experiences of life and culture. Similarly, AI models operate by sifting through massive datasets filled with text, images, videos, and human insights. They recognise patterns, identify connections, and use statistical probabilities to predict outcomes.
This game-changing technological advancement places unprecedented power into the hands of creative teams. Armed not just with immense processing power, but also advanced logic, sophisticated reasoning capabilities, and the collected wisdom of…well…the entirety of human culture and history(!), creatives can now approach creative production in ways previously unimaginable.
And central to this power shift is the invention of text-based prompting—a deceptively simple device that allows a user to bring their ideas to life in multiple ways. With prompts, copywriters can now generate visuals directly from text; designers, in turn, can produce copy ideas for their graphics. Even marketing managers—traditionally dependent on specialised creative teams—can rapidly prototype full campaigns, complete with visuals, text, and even videos.
These capabilities are fundamentally reshaping creative teams. Traditional barriers are dissolving, replaced by a democratised environment in which anyone can ideate, experiment, or produce engaging content. Such freedom opens entirely new pathways for creative inspiration, significantly accelerates production processes, and simplifies the distribution of creative outputs.
However, while the possibilities seem endless, it’s precisely this ease of creation that now demands greater originality. With everyone harnessing the same powerful tools, standing out requires more purpose, skill, and genuine human insight than ever before.
Invest in creatives first
With all the creative freedom AI tools have granted us, you’d be forgiven for thinking that investing your entire budget in shiny new AI software is the quickest path to creative brilliance. But the simple truth is that AI is only one piece of the puzzle. Human creativity remains central, indispensable even, to producing truly outstanding work. After all, AI is just a tool—and what good is a tool without the skill and insight of the craftsman wielding it?
For marketing and procurement departments, this means that investing in your creative talent matters far more than the AI software you choose. When you prioritise your creative team’s talent, experience, and ability to intentionally engage with AI, these tools suddenly become transformative, amplifying existing strengths into genuine creative superpowers.
At its best, AI should remain invisible to the audience. Great creatives don’t use AI as a shortcut; instead, they turn to AI to discover new perspectives, swiftly filter out generic ideas, and reveal possibilities previously hidden or out of reach. They automate repetitive tasks, proliferate content in countless formats, and develop robust feedback loops. This is worlds apart from mediocre creators who lean too heavily on AI, outsourcing their imagination and flooding the market with shallow, derivative content.
The solution isn’t more sophisticated technology—it’s investing in the human beings who use it. To harness AI’s potential, nurture your creative talent first. Equip your teams with the skills, freedom, and confidence to use AI thoughtfully, and the results will speak for themselves. So, let’s say it clearly, as it’s worth saying twice: invest in your creative teams.
The answer you’ve all been waiting for…
So, how can we ensure brands can cut through the noise and stand out in the age of AI? The answer is simple: by leveraging quality creatives and AI tools to enhance inspiration, production, and distribution.
When it comes to inspiration, AI tools grant access to an infinite range of creative perspectives, empowering teams to quickly explore and evaluate numerous ideas. Rather than facing the daunting blank page, teams can tap into AI to generate initial concepts, filter out weaker ideas, and establish stronger creative foundations.
During the creative production phase, AI significantly streamlines workflows by automating tedious, repetitive tasks. Creatives no longer need to get bogged down in manual tasks; instead, they can effortlessly produce visuals, sounds, and even video references on demand. This accelerates production workflows and enhances the quality of final creative output, as human teams can concentrate on refining concepts and experimenting with different approaches.
And finally, AI can transform content distribution through the proliferation of creative assets. Brands can swiftly generate any number of short-form assets from existing content, tailoring these into targeted ads and discoverable experiences. AI’s ability to deliver stronger feedback loops helps test and optimise campaigns to maximise reach and refine their message, elevating content far beyond the realm of generic outputs.
Remember, wherever you apply AI, the difference-maker is always human talent: skilled, intentional, and willing to put in the effort. That’s how content stands out.
spring-production.com
*1 & *2. Click Consult Report, November 2024 https://www.click.co.uk/insights/new-research-on-customer-perception-of-ai-in-marketing/
