If you're a passenger on a flight, there are usually 2-3 pilots who use various instruments and autopilot (AI) throughout the flight. During take off and landing the human pilots are using their instruments to fly the plane. And, then between those times, during the actual flight, the pilots engage autopilot to fly the plane based on the destination information they input.
The opposite is true for generative AI - especially when it comes to creative disciplines like marketing.
What is generative AI?
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of artificial intelligence that generates text, images, etc. from specific prompts. In the case of Chat GPT, a popular generative AI software, you can use Chat GPT to enter your prompt and Chat GPT will produce a result. For example, you can tell Chat GPT to create a 200 character social media post about [XYZ topic], and it will produce one in a mater of seconds. Where as a human might take a few minutes to create a similar output.
Certainly, these efficiencies can add up to hours of time saved over time, but it's not a set it and forget it process. The human does need to review the output and edit the content to fit the business goals and brand.
Why is generative AI the opposite of autopilot?
When flying a plane the prompt is the destination and autopilot is used in the middle of the process with more human engagement at the beginning (takeoff) and the end (landing) of the process.
With generative AI, it's the opposite. Generative AI is great at helping brainstorm ideas and creating a first draft based on an idea prompt, and generative AI can help you publish the content (i.e. scheduling a social media post). But, a human needs to be engaged in the middle of the process in order to edit the content and make sure the content supports the business goals and brand.
The future of generative AI
As generative AI continues to mature, more and more of the creative process will have the opportunity to be AI generated, but for now, we still need a human to point the generative AI in the right direction and refine the results to fit our goals and brand.