INDEPENDENT THINKING. PRACTICAL MARKETING.THE MARKETING INSTITUTE JOURNAL
Ideas worth thinking about.
Methods worth putting to work.
Explore the journal ISSUE 01 / OCTOBER 2026
AI & MarketingAI & Marketing / Editorial

Automate the task. Keep the judgment.

Where AI belongs in a marketing workflow—and where people need to stay involved.

Design the workflow first.

Choose the task before the tool

Start with a repeated task whose inputs and output can be clearly described. Drafting variations from an approved brief is easier to evaluate than asking a tool to invent your whole strategy. Write down what a good result looks like before testing.

Give it useful boundaries

Provide the intended audience, approved facts, brand voice and examples of acceptable work. Avoid including confidential customer information in a tool unless your organisation has approved that use. Clear inputs make the output easier to assess.

Build review into the process

Assign a person to check factual claims, positioning, language and originality. AI can produce fluent text while making unsupported claims. A review step needs time, ownership and criteria; it cannot be an assumption at the end of the workflow.

Measure the whole process

Compare the time spent briefing, generating, correcting and approving the work. Faster drafting does not always mean faster delivery. Retain the workflow when it improves the final result or frees time for work that needs human judgment.

PUT IT TO WORK

Bring one of these questions to your next planning session. Make a decision, write down your reasoning, and revisit it after the work runs.

Keep thinking.