'Helpful, but no replacement'

Most of our team agrees: AI’s useful, but it’s no replacement. And that’s pretty much our overall stance.

We like the search engines with smarts, the free transcriptions, and the invisible notetakers in the background of client calls. Even text-generating tools have their moments. But the last thing we'd do is let AI have the final word.

That might sound smug. Like the self-interested chuffing of a carthorse arguing motorcars aren't that fast.

So here’s the deal…

We treat AI like any other tool

Every creative has their own way of working – tricks, shortcuts, rituals. For some, AI’s sworn by. For others, it’s sworn at. Creative processes are messy, personal, and often invisible. By the time you see the FINAL_SEND THIS ONE.pdf, you can bet that draft’s seen some things.

We’re not watching over shoulders counting keystrokes or tallying AI use. We haven’t banned it, so why would we?

The main thing to know is that we never use AI if our client doesn’t want us to.

When a client says yes, and when they say no

We’ve worked with clients at both ends of the spectrum – those who firmly reject AI, and those who use it themselves and/or welcome it. For those who don’t want us to use it, the process is simple: we don’t use it.

And for those who welcome it…well, we still draw lines. Because we've run the numbers (and a human-led creative process gets better results).

We spoke to a few of our creatives who do use AI as part of their process. Just to give you a sense of how that looks in practice, here’s how two of them break it down:

Creative 1

  • Taking the brief: human
  • Researching: human + AI
  • Coming up with ideas: human + AI
  • Writing a first draft: human
  • Refining the piece: human + AI
  • Checking for a final time: human

Creative 2

  • Taking the brief: human
  • Researching: human
  • Coming up with ideas: human
  • Writing a first draft: human
  • Refining the piece: human + AI
  • Checking for a final time: human

In both cases, the pattern’s clear: it starts with the human and ends with the human. Human first, human last.

After all, clients want writing that grabs eyeballs, knocks hearts, blows minds and opens wallets. They're chasing attention, loyalty and lucre.

For those aims, only perfect phrases will do. AI-generated copy is too generic to compete with a first-rate draft from a human mind.

That's true today, at least

Like anything with AI, the ‘for now’ caveat applies. It can’t compete for now.

So why aren’t we panicking? Why the manatee-level calm while the industry convulses?

Because we’re clear on our purpose: we find the words that shift the world.

Other consultancies force shifts through firing and hiring, outsourcing and innovation. We use language. So don't let our agency’s name fool you. Writing’s what we do on the surface, but we're here to solve problems and make shift happen.

We're not here to defend a profession. We're here to deliver standout work. If and when AI helps us do that, we'll use it. If it doesn't, we won’t.

See how we can bring our Human First, Human Last thinking to your projects.