AI Didn’t Kill Creativity. It Killed Average.

Patrick Coffee recently wrote in The Wall Street Journal that, “AI-generated product demonstrations, makeup applications and dress twirls are spreading on TikTok Shop, raising tensions among creators, brands and the platform itself.”

Patrick’s reporting highlights the growing tension AI is creating for creators, brands and platforms. It also prompted me to think about a different question: If execution is rapidly becoming accessible to everyone, where does competitive advantage come from?

For years, organizations competed on execution. Better creative teams, stronger agency partners, larger production budgets and faster campaign development all created meaningful competitive advantage. Producing high-quality content at scale was difficult, and that difficulty was part of what made it valuable.

Today, that barrier is disappearing. Nearly every organization has access to powerful AI tools that can generate copy, images, video and presentations in minutes. Creating content has become dramatically easier. Creating something memorable hasn’t.

As I’ve watched this unfold, I’m convinced that the organizations pulling ahead aren’t just adopting AI faster, they’re becoming more intentional about the thinking that surrounds it. When everyone has access to similar tools, the quality of the ideas matters more than the speed of execution.

The truth is, AI didn’t kill creativity. It killed average. Average execution has become easier to produce. Original thinking is still hard. So as marketers and communicators, here’s what we need to be asking:

• 01If AI can help every company create more content, what is it about our thinking that no one else can replicate?
• 02Are we using AI simply to move faster, or are we using it to create more time for deeper thinking, stronger ideas and better decisions?
• 03What unique perspective would our customers miss if our brand disappeared tomorrow?

The organizations that answer those questions well will be the ones people remember.

One of the things I’ve appreciated most over the past year has been watching our marketing and communications team at Optiv embrace AI. The technology hasn’t diminished anyone’s value, it’s made people’s strengths even more visible.

As routine work gets done faster, we’ve found ourselves spending more time discussing positioning, messaging, customer insight, creative problem solving and the conversations that shape stronger outcomes. The tools have changed how we work, but they haven’t changed what makes great marketing and communications. Original thinking, sound judgment and the ability to connect ideas in meaningful ways remain the qualities that make the biggest difference.

For CMOs, our responsibility is to create an environment where talented people can think more deeply, challenge conventional ideas and produce work that is unmistakably human.