Content Marketing is Dying

If AI Can Say It, does it Need to be Said?

I remember when Content Marketing became a thing. Marketers had been using content to tell stories for years—we just didn’t have a name for it. Then one day, someone said, ‘What if we were more deliberate about how we create content for marketing?’ That kicked off a wave of rules, frameworks, and best practices. And of course, someone gave it a name: Content Marketing.

I’ve built A LOT of content over the years, the typical stuff, short form, long form assets, and premium content like interactive web apps, all sorts of video, and even some iPhone apps. The playbook for making successful content was somewhat simple, but took skill and effort to execute correctly:

1. Use the right keywords,

2. Deliver them through the right channel,

3. End with a strong CTA.

Do that well, and you’d earn traffic, engagement, and maybe even pipeline.

But that playbook is collapsing.

The AI Shortcut Is Flooding the Market

Today, anyone can spin up a blog post on any trending topic using an AI prompt. Give your favorite LLM a set of keywords, describe the audience, select a word count and voilà, content. The results are shockingly good. Clear. Well-structured. Optimized. It’s everything we used to aim for—at scale and at speed.

And that’s the problem.

It’s so easy to create good content that we are now surrounded by it. A while back I postulated in an earlier blog that content marketers were going to become prompt engineers instead of writers. And in many orgs, this has happened. But now I’m wonder whether that’s the correct direction.

If your content reads like it could’ve been written by ChatGPT, why should anyone read it!? If your blog just tells me what I could get from a prompt to my own instance of ChatGPT, I’ll skip the marketing copy and go ask the AI myself—for free, and without the lead form.

What Does AI have to Say Anyway?

AI is a phenomenal communicator. It synthesizes information across billions of sources. But it doesn’t know our real world. It only sees a digitized version of it. It can’t prioritize what matters now for your customers. It can’t bring the lived experience, intuition, or judgment that comes from actually solving problems.

In other words, AI can tell you what you want to hear, what you prompted it to say. But only a human can tell you what you need to hear.

LLMs are trained on existing content. While they can generate new text, they’re ultimately remixing what’s already known—not offering original insight. So, if you want to know the latest trends in something like Cyber Security, Data Center Networking, or Embroidery Stitch Patterns, ask your AI.

Google Is Catching On Too

Google’s not fooled by this flood of recycled content. Its recent algorithm updates—especially the Helpful Content System and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)—reward content that shows original insight and firsthand experience. They’re deprioritizing copycat content built for keywords, not for humans.

That means what worked in the past—SEO-first thinking—isn’t going to work much longer. The formula is changing:

Old formula: Keywords → Format → CTA

New formula: Intellectual Property → Format → CTA

You still need to guide people to the next step. But what gets them to care in the first place is what only you as a human can bring to the table: insight born from real-world experience.

In-Person Events Are a Leading Indicator

Look at how in-person events are surging in marketing effectiveness again. It’s not because they’re easier or cheaper. It’s because they’re human.

When a prospect talks to someone at a live event, they don’t just get the scripted message—they get the message filtered through real-world experience. They hear nuance, they ask questions, they get context. It’s messy. It’s honest. And it’s believable.

We can’t scale that kind of authenticity to every channel—but we can embed it in our content. And we must.

Sales Gets It Too

This isn’t just a content problem—it’s a sales problem too.

Top-performing salespeople already know the difference. I’ve heard many of them say, “My job isn’t to list what keeps my customers up at night—they already know their challenges. My job is to understand what we offer and help them connect the dots to their goals.”

Sellers know their buyers don’t have time to stay on top of every product update or point release. That’s where sales brings insight—not just data. And that’s what creates real value in the conversation.

Content should do the same. Don’t repeat what I can find on your homepage. Don’t summarize the obvious. Give me insight.

Add value.

That doesn’t mean being different just for the sake of being clever. It means saying something that shifts my thinking—something that leads naturally to a conversation where your solutions can help.

The Future Belongs to Content with a Point of View

One of my marketing mentors drilled into me – “Always Lead with Insight” and that mantra has served me well.

I have a new mantra I’d like to pass along – “Always Add Value”

You have to say something different—but more importantly, something valuable. And in the commercial world, valuable means it leads to dialogue, trust, and eventually, sales.

That’s not something AI can do alone. But it’s something you—and your team—can do better than anyone else.

So ask yourself:

– What do we know that others don’t?

– What have we seen that changes how the problem should be approached?

– What insight could we share that might help someone take action today?

That’s your content.

That’s your edge.

That’s what people can’t get from a prompt.

What’s your take—will content marketers become prompt engineers, or the architects of original insight? Let’s talk.