Human Storytellers Still Have an Edge in the AI Age 

This post was created in partnership with Typeface

Artificial intelligence is now cracking marketing’s oldest code, delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. This leap might seem like a threat, but it’s actually steering the marketer’s role in a surprisingly human direction.

During an ADWEEK House Advertising HQ fireside chat, Jason Ing, CMO of Typeface, and Zoë Ruderman, chief content officer at ADWEEK, explored how AI is creating a “Mad Men 2.0” era, where data-driven optimization becomes the floor, and human creativity defines the new ceiling.

A fundamental shift in the work itself

While past technology offered new distribution channels, Ing argued AI is different because it changes the nature of the work itself.

“When you look at what AI does, it’s helping a lot with productivity,” Ing explained. “It’s something that not only makes your job as a marketer different and easier for the most part, but it changes the way you work.”

This change is happening at a relentless speed. As new AI models from Google and OpenAI launch with capabilities that are nearly indistinguishable from reality, marketers are being pushed to adapt faster than ever.

“If you were to take away anything from what’s different in this AI age we’re living in, it’s everything is happening leaps and bounds faster than any other technological change,” Ing noted.

Where the algorithm ends

Early in the conversation, Ruderman framed the central theme: “AI raises the floor. Storytelling sets the ceiling.”

Pointing to the classic ad man Don Draper, whose genius was rooted in a flawed humanity, Ing agreed that technology’s logic can’t replicate the human experience. “His ability to tell stories that make for great advertising is because of all the shared pain, the brokenness of his character,” Ing said.

He noted that technology is rational and logical, while the human experience is not. This gives human storytellers an edge that AI may never conquer, a concept he likened to an asymptote, or a line that continually approaches a curve but never meets the upper limit. “I see AI going in that direction where it’ll get close, but you can always tell the difference,” Ing shared.

As proof, Ing pointed to the ultimate source: OpenAI itself. “OpenAI made its first brand advertising spot,” he explained. “It was shot on 35-millimeter film with actors, real people, real director—this is a company that could have made their own AI spot, but they chose to make it very human.”

Separating the leaders from the pack

With AI handling optimization, marketers must refocus on what makes a campaign truly great. “You’ve always got to know what great looks like, and it’s about having taste. It’s about having good judgment and creativity,” Ing shared. “And I think that is the space that we will always shine.”

So, how are brands successfully navigating this shift? According to Ing, the ones who win share a common mindset. They see AI as more than another tool in the toolkit. They treat it as an opportunity to embrace a new way of thinking, reminiscent of Jeff Bezos’s famed “Day One” philosophy.

“Companies that come in with that mindset of not having the answers, but willing to learn, experiment, fail, and do things very differently, are the ones that I see really coming out ahead in how AI gets adopted,” Ing said.

He contrasted the recent struggles of a legacy brand with the momentum of ASICS, a Typeface customer that’s having one of its best-performing years—driven by a clear brand story and AI-powered personalization. “ASICS is thinking a lot about how to marry the two things together so that they can tell their brand in an authentic way while raising the floor,” he shared.

Building the team of tomorrow

This new era requires a new kind of marketer. As AI solves the industry’s content gap, the skills required to succeed are changing, especially for those who built careers specializing in a single channel.

Ultimately, Ing summarized AI’s role with a personal anecdote about using it to analyze his golf swing. The technology provides excellent coaching, but it can’t make him a great golfer on its own.

“I am a better golfer, but there are still reasons why I’ll never be great,” he concluded. “AI will only get me so far, just like AI will only help creativity so much.”