Engage - Human vs AI

Which is Best?
(3 min read)
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As we wrap up our Human vs AI series on Read. Write. Engage, we'll look at how AI is doing to ENGAGE your audience. Our earlier editions focused on AI in (proof)Reading and Writing. 

My take on AI in proofreading - strongly on Team Human.

AI in writing - AI does better, but I still lean heavily on Team Human.

To ENGAGE your customer, there are useful AI tools available, but it all relies on human involvement and simply BEING human—interacting with other humans as a human.

How Does AI "Engage" with Customers?
To ENGAGE your customers, there are a myriad of tasks you do. Engaging is a composite of activities to ultimately connect with your customer. 

• Various marketing efforts - create a brand kit, strategy, create PR items
• Website creation and maintenance
• Emails & Blog posts
• Social media
• Meet & Greet your customers, potential clients, and fellow business leaders

What CAN AI Do?
AI may be in template-based products you use. This includes Canva for logo, flyer, or newsletter designs. AI can be in template-based website hosts such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. AI is embedded to help you get creative to improve your words, images, or overall design. 

AI is amazing at analytics. AI can help you be more precise in customer messaging by reviewing your donor or sales information. AI can review your sales data to help suggest products to your customer for you to personalize your emails. (CRM or Customer Relationship Management tools such as Hubspot)

AI can help you review your Pinterest idea boards for your next event to nail your clear decorating favorites or logo design ideas. 

AI is useful in social media management to schedule posts, help you write the content, and capture the most catchy headline for your post or blog. 

AI can even help identify potential customers. You can use it to bring your customer personas to life. You can identify where your customers are - conventions to consider attending to network, appropriate businesses that fit your model, or potential contacts to cold email or connect on socials. ChatGPT and similar tools are great assistants for this.

What CAN'T AI Do?
​AI does no good TALKING to your customers. That simply can't be replaced. It's up to YOU to TALK with your customers in person, in messages, on the phone, and in emails. 

AI is supposedly able to compose emails for you and can become seemingly adept at getting familiar with your writing voice if you use it frequently. It definitely needs oversight and a final review before hitting "send" and often needs some adjustments, but it can help you make the task easier. 

AI is supposedly useful on websites and phones with "chat bots" or "AI agents." They may help in a limited manner, but I've never met a useful chat bot yet. After about three questions, I'm ready to throw the phone or computer in search of a human, except now I'm frustrated, which isn't a great way to talk with someone, and it leaves a lousy impression of your brand.

There is absolutely no replacing the benefit of human interaction at networking events, even if those events are online. AI simply can't do that.

Team Human or Team AI
AI can be a useful tool. It is no replacement for the human factor. Any use of AI should be to complement you as a human. 

The ongoing development of AI will push us to clarify and identify what IS important to us about each other and what the human factor is. 

What is the best way to ENGAGE your customers? Be human! YOU are the secret ingredient!

Where do you use AI in your efforts to ENGAGE with your customer? Love to hear your thoughts!

I provide a number of services for nonprofits, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and authors. I look forward to discussing ways to Engage your customers - Let's Chat!

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