AI & Marketing Strategy: Risks & Leverage
You Can’t Automate Vision
AI is changing marketing — fast. But while most teams focus on automating tasks, the real shift is happening higher up the chain: in how strategies are created, validated, and adapted.
Planning used to be a human game. Now, AI sits at the whiteboard with you. It can surface patterns, simulate outcomes, and even suggest entire campaign architectures. But there’s a catch — if you rely on it too heavily, you risk building a house of cards on top of borrowed thinking.
This page is about the strategic layer of AI — not tools, but consequences.
The Leverage Side: Where AI Makes You Smarter
AI isn’t just about efficiency. It’s a strategy amplifier. Here’s where smart teams are using it for leverage:
1. Market Mapping & Trend Detection
Use AI to process thousands of data points and surface where attention is shifting. Great for:
- Spotting rising competitors
- Uncovering gaps in category messaging
- Modeling future keyword demand
2. Scenario Planning at Scale
AI can simulate what-if models:
“What if we cut paid by 50% and increased organic output?”
“What if we shifted positioning from speed to security?”
This speeds up decision-making — but the human still sets the objective.
3. Strategic Copy & Framework Assistance
Think: AI helping draft an OGSM skeleton or a first-pass SWOT.
You review. You refine. You lead.
The Risk Side: Strategic Drift & Echo Chamber Thinking
Not all leverage is good. Here’s how AI can backfire:
1. Default Thinking = Default Strategy
When everyone uses the same prompts, models, and data — everything starts to look the same.
What worked for your competitor isn’t your advantage. It’s their leftovers.
2. Outsourcing Vision
AI can offer options. But strategy requires choice. It’s easy to confuse output with insight — and end up chasing ideas with no grounding in your actual business or market.
3. Data Bias = Directional Bias
If your training data is skewed (old, narrow, biased), your insights will be too. That means your AI-generated plan might be optimized for a world that no longer exists.
Where Humans Stay in Control
Use AI as a force multiplier, not a strategist. It’s great at surfacing options. But only you can:
- Set the objective
- Prioritize the plays
- Know when to break the model
Strategic planning still demands:
- Context
- Judgment
- Risk tolerance
- Real-world feedback
OGSM + AI = Clarity, Faster
Want to speed up your planning process without handing over the wheel? Use OGSM as your scaffold — and let AI help fill in the options under each part:
| OGSM Part | How AI Can Help |
| Objective | Suggest variations based on market trends |
| Goals | Model realistic KPIs based on benchmarks |
| Strategy | Draft high-level plays or channel mixes |
| Measures | Identify metrics worth tracking by funnel stage |
You still review, edit, and own the plan. But AI reduces blank-page time and helps you stress-test ideas.
Final Word: Don’t Let the Map Become the Territory
AI can help you see more. But it can’t tell you where to go.
The smartest teams will use AI to sharpen their view — not to outsource their strategy.