Written by Katie Antonissen

For context, my name is Katie and I am the founder of K8’s lab, a creative studio, located here in Norfolk County.

In many ways, AI is entirely useful. You can ask it health related questions, to come up with ideas for your cousin’s birthday party theme, use it to  finally figure out why your grass is turning brown in certain areas of your lawn. There are endless ways AI can make your daily life easier.

But as a creative, the most frustrating thing is seeing how widespread the use of AI in advertising has become.

As the owner of a creative studio, I spend a lot of my time in my office, brainstorming ideas, planning for upcoming client campaigns, and thinking outside of the box. I’m sure many business owners do the same.

Regardless of the size, nature, and goals of your businesses one thing remains true, marketing and advertising is important. 

In the age of AI and social media, business owners are now being tasked with making posts, designing content, and navigating the new terrain of online advertising. 

Now, all of this added pressure and work can be handled in a matter of minutes, thanks to AI.

People will talk to me about the ‘threat’ of AI to the marketing industry, however I think of it as quite the opposite. I see AI as an opportunity for people in the industry to set ourselves apart from AI generated logos, designs, themes. I see the leverage human creativity has on AI. This is the perfect opportunity for humans to connect with our designs, our creativity, and relate to something, to appreciate something. AI isn’t a threat to the industry, it’s showing the strength of creatives.

I constantly scroll through social media channels, seeing businesses, companies, even public service agencies using all AI-generated content. To keep myself at peace, I quickly re-do the content in my head and think of ways I would have executed it, the human way.

I understand AI services can be free and hiring a designer may not be realistic in some business’s budget, however, I’d rather see a ‘bad’ Instagram ad or poster, somebody who is trying to market their business that they have a passion for, rather than AI-generated content.

Is it frustrating? Yes. Can people tell the difference between an AI-generated ad and an ad designed by a human? Also, yes.

AI isn’t a threat to the marketing industry, AI is a threat to what people think of marketers and designers. AI is a threat to the respect people hold with creatives, and the countless hours spent on Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, or even with just a notebook and pencil, doing the work often alone in an office.

Katie of K8’s Lab, 25, Norfolk County.