Ralph and Lauren take a bold look at a rising issue in modern marketing teams: is AI making your team dumber? Drawing from real-world agency experience, Lauren shares a transparent case study from her own business where AI tools like ChatGPT and Jasper created an illusion of productivity but resulted in lackluster, surface-level insights. The discussion tackles how over-reliance on AI can quietly erode critical thinking, replacing strategic interpretation with generic output that “feels” complete but misses true business impact. You’ll learn why being “human in the loop” matters, how to train your team to use AI as a collaborator—not a crutch—and why tools should ask better questions instead of just giving faster answers. This episode is a must-listen for any marketing leader, CMO, or founder using AI to scale without sacrificing intelligence, creativity, and judgment.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 - Kickoff & A Powerful Shoutout to Steve Sims
• 00:02:21 - AI in Marketing: Game-Changer or Risk?
• 00:04:26 - When AI Fails: A Shocking Case Study
• 00:08:06 - Critical Thinking vs AI: Who Wins?
• 00:13:24 - Smart Fixes & What’s Next for Teams
• 00:25:52 - Final Takeaways & Must-Have Resources

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

• Get Your Marketing Performance IndicatorsTM Checklist Now!
• Get Your nCAC Calculator Now!
• Get Your nCAC Calculator Now!
• Make Data Driven Marketing Decisions with Confidence
• The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions
• Go for Stupid: The Art of Achieving Ridiculous Goals
• Tier 11 Jobs
• Perpetual Traffic on YouTube
• Tiereleven.com
• Mongoose Media
• Perpetual Traffic Survey
• Perpetual Traffic Website
• Follow Perpetual Traffic on Twitter
• Connect with Lauren on Instagram and Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to Perpetual Traffic? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on iTunes and leave us a review!

Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.activecampaign.com/

https://www.activecampaign.com/

https://unbounce.com/pt/