By Connie Hanrahan
Not long ago, I had the privilege of once again grading Capstone Projects for the CSU journalism department - a volunteer effort I've participated in for decades. Before wrapping up, I asked each student the same simple question: What do you think about AI?
Their answers surprised me. At first.
Almost across the board, these creative, driven students were skeptical. Even resistant. And once I thought about it for more than a minute, I understood exactly why. These are people who chose a field because they believe words matter. Because storytelling matters. Because they matter. The idea that a machine could generate what they've spent years learning to craft? That stings.
Honestly? I get it completely.
There's something worth paying attention to when an entire room full of aspiring journalists pushes back on AI. These students aren't being dramatic or naive. They're protecting something real - the value of human perspective, original thought, and the kind of storytelling that actually connects with people.
That instinct is correct.
AI can produce words quickly. It can identify patterns, pull information, and generate options at a speed no human can match. But it doesn't understand your audience. It doesn't know your brand. It has no stake in the outcome and no lived experience to draw from. What it produces is, at its core, a very sophisticated prediction…a best guess based on what already exists.
The most original ideas don't come from what already exists. They come from people who can imagine what doesn't yet.
At Mantooth, we are not anti-technology. Far from it. We use AI, selectively and intentionally, in specific situations where it genuinely helps us work smarter.
Here's where it actually earns its place:
That's where it ends.
AI does not generate campaign ideas at Mantooth. It does not touch design work. There's a good reason for that.
Our graphic design team brings over 100 combined years of experience to every project. That number represents real careers, real client relationships, and real creative breakthroughs that no algorithm could have predicted. These designers can imagine a concept and execute it faster than most people can even articulate what they're looking for. They work from cultural awareness, from conversation, from understanding what a client actually needs versus what the client thinks they need.
We are not interested in canned designs that could belong to any company in any market. Our clients deserve more than a template with their logo dropped in and a few colors adjusted. They deserve work that was genuinely thought through by a person who cares about the outcome and the brand behind it.
That is not something AI can replicate.
Here's the distinction that matters most to me: AI can assist with ideas, but it cannot own them. It can speed up a workflow, but it cannot lead one.
Effective marketing strategy comes from people who understand your business at a level that takes real time to build. It comes from brainstorming sessions where unexpected combinations surface, from cultural awareness, from reading a room, from knowing when a campaign concept is bold versus when it's tone-deaf. It comes from building genuine relationships with clients and earning enough trust to push back when needed.
AI works by analyzing patterns in existing data. It is not thinking about your long-term goals. It is not tracking what your competitors are about to do. It is not asking whether your audience has shifted or what message will actually cut through right now.
Your strategy partner needs to do all of those things. That takes a human team.
Those journalism students were onto something. Their hesitation about AI wasn't a failure to adapt - it was a recognition that what they offer has real value, and that value shouldn't be handed over just to get something done faster.
I've been complimented for years on my wordsmithing, and honestly, it's one of my great loves. It's not something I'm eager to give up in the name of efficiency. The same goes for the work we do at Mantooth.
Use AI where it genuinely makes you more efficient. Use it to sharpen what you're already creating, not to replace the act of creating. And when it comes to strategy, campaign development, and design, invest in people who bring real experience, imagination, and care to the work.
Technology will keep evolving. Human connection is what makes marketing actually work.
If you're wondering whether your current marketing is leading with strategy and creativity or leaning too hard on shortcuts, let's talk. That's exactly the kind of conversation we're here for.
