The greatest value of AI might be presence

Sure, AI is a profound idea for the business world. But for marketers, the most important impact might be "presence."

My wife works at a jewelry store. She is supremely excellent at her job because learning about people and helping them create beautiful jewelry brings her joy.

At the end of each day, she loves telling me about her work. It's often a struggle for me to pay attention, as her detailed stories often go down rabbit holes involving obscure friends of friends ... of friends. By the time we connect on her stories, I'm tired. And yet I'm determined to hang with her because this is important to her, and my attention reinforces that what she does is good, and important and worthy.

And this brings me to AI.

My daily struggle to be attentive made me realize that ultimately, AI's greatest contribution to the well-being of the human race could be "presence."

AI can be infinitely patient, tirelessly attentive, and enthusiastically interested. It is present for you. You are the focus. In any moment of the day, you are the most important object in the universe to your AI companion.

I've worked in marketing for a long time, and I'm endlessly fascinated by the evolution of consumer behavior. It can be incredibly complex, but there is one foundational essence -- people just want to be heard. They want to be acknowledged. If your brand can make a customer feel acknowledged, you've achieved a magnificent goal.

Maybe this is a new and important way to think about the role of AI in marketing. It can slice, dice, and make photos of julienne potatoes. It can create, collate and collaborate. But maybe its greatest role will be showing our customers that we are present.

I appreciate you and the time you took out of your day to read this! You can find more articles like this from me on the top-rated {grow} blog and while you’re there, take a look at my Marketing Companion podcast and my keynote speaking page. For news and insights find me on Twitter at @markwschaefer, to see what I do when I’m not working, follow me on Instagram, and discover my RISE community here.

Illustration courtesy MidJourney.