AI is having a moment, and that’s an understatement.

Even though the tech has existed since the 1950s, never in my career have I been so conscious of all the news swirling around when it comes to AI – both the good and the bad.

I am surrounded daily by organisations implementing AI solutions to create brilliant innovations, and I’m seeing some of the brightest AI talent coming through the ranks from academia to industry.

However, within marketing and content creation, there is a lot of debate around the advancement and the ethical use of AI – specifically generative AI.

But will it impact creativity for those who use it?

We have seen some musicians provide their two cents on the generative AI debate (both for and against). For example, Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys declared that he has no issue using generative AI as part of the songwriting process, admitting that it can help overcome writer’s block.

While on the flip side, Sting is staunchly against its use as it lacks the emotion a human can express in a song.

Our marketing team has experimented with content creation, asking ChatGPT to write a blog on predicting data trends. However, our data scientists scrutinised the blog and were unimpressed.

So, whilst some team members use generative AI to develop ideas, we leave the actual content creation to the human professionals.

When it comes to the use of AI by marketeers overall, several pieces of research have revealed that in the next two years, more than three quarters (77%) of marketing professionals will be using generative AI.

Google also recently announced that it will use the technology to create sophisticated ad campaigns.

Equally, we are seeing other organisations come to market with tools that use ChatGPT to support email marketing by creating engaging subject lines and segmenting audiences to improve open rates.

We are likely to start seeing acknowledgements of when AI has been used – irrespective of whether we are using it to automate marketing campaigns or write songs. Caveating creativity and using AI ethically could become a must.

However, right now, guidance and clarification on the use of AI in our work and sector is sparse.

What is becoming more evident, though, is whichever your sector or remit, we all need to bring a level of responsibility to the table.

When it comes to using AI in marketing materials, we need to be more open about its use.

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a series of stern warnings to marketers and those in customer experience making claims that their products are boosted by AI since it could mislead customers.

An FTC official has been quoted as saying: “Technologists and others can look under the hood and analyse other materials to see if what’s inside matches up with your claims.

“Before labelling your product as AI-powered, note also that merely using an AI tool in the development process is not the same as a product having AI in it.”

More broadly, industry bodies and organisations alike are working to clarify its use, and, at a higher level, we have seen organisations calling on governments around the world to regulate the use of AI.

For example, most recently global tech firms called on the US Congress to enforce any regulation.

Without this clear guidance, marketers and organisations alike must be open and honest when any AI tools have been involved in a task. While we might opt not to use “powered by AI” in this clarification, it is only right that we acknowledge its use.

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However, we mustn’t hand over all responsibility to an AI tool.

After all, while it might help us remove the fear of a blank page at the start of a campaign, it won’t remove the need for human involvement in the creative process, which can ensure the brand tone of voice and language are used.

My advice? Dip your toes in the AI waters.

It could help uncover some valuable insight you never thought about, but keeping human involvement in the creative process is essential and remains the only way to ensure rich impactful content that stands out in all the best ways.