As AI takes centre stage at this year’s FutureWeek, Kate Ross, Co-founder and Group MD at eight&four, cuts through the hype: the real risk AI poses to marketing isn’t job loss - it’s creative dilution.
Rather than transforming the industry, Kate argues, AI is accelerating a shift toward blandness at scale. It's not delivering brilliance - it’s enabling templated content at record speed, flooding channels with what she calls “AI sludge.”
Speed Over Substance
AI tools make it easier than ever to churn out content - but easier doesn’t mean better. Without strong creative direction, Kate warns, these tools simply multiply mediocrity. They raise the floor but never the ceiling. What used to be three ideas becomes 50 nearly identical versions, none of them memorable.
“AI isn’t replacing marketers,” Kate says. “It’s replacing restraint.”
The Personalisation Myth
A key example is the industry’s obsession with “personalisation at scale.” In theory, it’s a breakthrough. In practice, it’s often one decent idea watered down into dozens of forgettable executions - a process that favors volume over impact.
And as AI drives down production costs, that volume will only increase. But does anyone really need a personalised Coca-Cola banner ad? Kate doesn’t think so - and she’s not alone.
Why Creative Still Matters
Despite the flood of AI-generated content, Kate believes great marketers are more essential than ever. AI can remix and replicate - but it can’t judge, feel, or intuit. It doesn’t know when to say “this works” or “start over.”
The differentiator in the AI era isn’t the tool - it’s the creative mind behind it.
What Brands Should Do
Kate offers three key takeaways for brands looking to stay ahead:
Brief ideas, not outputs. Focus on the problem to solve, not the formats to fill.
Back creative authority. Hire people who can lead with taste and judgment.
Fight for depth. More assets don’t equal more impact - meaning matters.
A Reset, Not a Reckoning
AI isn’t ending creativity - it’s forcing a reset. The brands that win will be the ones that resist the sludge and double down on real storytelling, strategy, and soul.
Read the full article here.
