The new CMO dilemma: Improving CX without losing your soul

Tectonic shifts are happening globally in politics, art, business, crypto, medicine, James Bond (Amazon owns him now!) — you name it. It feels like everything is uncertain, or at the very least in flux. With uncertainty comes the tightening of belts and budgets, which means CMOs must balance the delicate act of preserving the heart and soul of their brand while simultaneously achieving aggressive conversion goals. This balancing act between brand integrity and demand generation is more than a challenge — but a critical mission with CMOs on the hook for solving the age-old conundrum of doing more with less.

“Just get AI to do it.” CMOs are probably hearing this from their c-suite comrades all the time now. Gen AI may seem like a panacea, but it comes with perils as well. According to Capterra, 45 % of marketers say they spend about half of their week generating marketing content, so searching for ways to cut down that time is a virtuous pursuit. But blindly adopting AI without a clear strategy for tech, brand, and CX implications is a recipe for disaster. Tools like Runway, Sora, and KlingAI can do amazing things with generative video. Synthesia can bring a custom AI avatar to life. ElevenLabs can generate voices in 31 languages. And while these tools are amazing, they can inadvertently strip the soul right out of your marketing communications.

With 65% of all customer interactions occurring online, digital channels are the primary ways that customers engage with brands. This requires a CMO to lasso all of those digital touchpoints, take ownership of the entirety of the customer experience, and guide it across the entire enterprise. This channel wrangling can’t be just about reinforcing consistency of brand look, feel, tone and voice though (that’s table stakes). The real challenge? Weaving these channels together to amplify engagement and outshine competitors.

As the CMO attempts to cross the pitfalls of AI, a balancing act must be performed. This is a precarious yet essential exercise weighing human touch (manually crafted creative, strategy, planning) and AI-powered capabilities in each of those areas. With 55% of businesses using Gen AI to enhance interactions, CMOs are racing to find that competitive edge. While that balance will be different for different businesses, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind as you step foot into the AI era.

AI is great at scale, but some things still need a human touch. Here’s where to draw the line:

That said, make sure your AI tools are being wielded by capable creative, strategic, and tech professionals — this will significantly increase the chances of your brand’s soul remaining intact.

It’s 2025: CMOs are walking the tightrope over a canyon of AI-driven automation, armed with nothing but their brand’s soul and a rapidly shrinking budget. AI is a game-changer, but without human creativity and strategy at the helm, it churns out lifeless, cookie-cutter content that drowns in the digital void. The winners? Those who wield AI as a tool, not a crutch—blending technology with storytelling to create marketing that actually resonates. At the end of the day, customers don’t remember algorithms—they remember the brands that made them feel something.

Copyeditor
Taylor Fagan

Illustrator
María Forero

Art Direction
Jason Oleszczuk