This article was written by ChatGPT. Or was it? You’re probably scanning these lines, trying to catch the overly perfect grammar, the balanced sentence structure or maybe a word such as ‘synergy’ – the kind of giveaway that screams: “Yep, definitely AI.”
But hold on. Before you roll your eyes and scroll away, let’s talk about that instinct – that tiny voice that says, “This doesn’t feel human.” Because that feeling right there? That’s the new battleground for customer experience.
We live in a world where AI writes ad copy, designs logos and predicts what customers will want before they even know it. The efficiency is amazing – the empathy, not so much. I’ve spent nine years in this industry watching automation take over the heavy lifting. It’s brilliant. But somewhere along the way, we started sounding the same – polite, precise, and painfully predictable.
And that’s the problem. If your marketing sounds like it was written by a machine – even a very smart one – you’ve already lost the magic.
One of my favorite quotes by Seth Godin says, “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” That line has always stuck with me, because it captures exactly what we tend to forget in the rush to optimise everything. AI can help us produce faster, but it can’t replicate that spark – the human messiness that makes people feel something.
Here’s a secret: people don’t crave perfection. They crave connection. The typos, the humour, the sarcasm, the “Wait, what?” moments – that’s what reminds people that there’s a real human being behind the brand. And that’s why I say your next marketing strategy needs a ‘meme budget’.
Because memes are imperfect, unpredictable and sometimes even chaotic. But they feel alive. They make people smile, react and share – not because they’re perfect, but because they’re real.
I’m all for tech. I use it daily – dashboards, AI tools and automation – the whole digital world. But after years in the game, I’ve realised that while tech helps us talk to customers, it doesn’t help us connect with them.
Data can tell you what time someone’s most likely to engage with your post. It can’t tell you what’s going to make them laugh at it. That’s where the human layer comes in – tone, humour, empathy, curiosity. Those are the things that no algorithm has mastered yet.
David Ogilvy once said, “The consumer isn’t a moron, she’s your wife.” It’s one of those timeless reminders that audiences don’t just want clever content – they want to be understood. They want honesty, warmth and sometimes even a little chaos. That’s what makes a brand feel alive.
Behind every strong CX strategy is a team that actually cares. If your internal culture encourages curiosity and playfulness, your campaigns will naturally carry that energy. If your team is afraid to experiment, your content will play it safe – and safe is invisible.
One of my favourite things about good marketing teams is that you can feel when they’re having fun. That energy seeps through the copy, the visuals the captions – everything. And on the flip side, when content feels over-polished and risk-free, it’s instantly forgettable. Because it sounds like everyone else.
So, whether it’s through memes, storytelling, or humour – give your people room to sound like people. It’s your best competitive advantage. Maybe that’s what we’ve lost in the age of ‘perfect’ content – the willingness to sound a little raw. The more human your brand feels, the more your audience sees themselves in it.
So yes, maybe this article started out sounding like ChatGPT. But by now, you’ve probably realised it’s not. Because no matter how smart AI becomes, it still can’t replicate the little sparks that make us human – the self-awareness, the humour, the imperfections.
And that, my friends, is exactly what separates good marketing from great experiences.
So go ahead – use your tools, optimise your funnels, and automate what you can. But don’t forget to keep a line in your budget – and in your heart – for the human moments.
Call it your meme budget, your emotion fund, or just a reminder that connection beats perfection every time. Because, as Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
And people don’t talk about flawless. They talk about real. Because the smartest strategy of all still
feels human.
By Azzam Khan, Integrated Associate Director, 5th Element MEA.
