The AI reinvention test: Front CEO Dan O'Connell on building for the future, not the past

Marketing AI Institute’s Cathy McPhillips on the new productivity, and the value of productive struggle

Cathy McPhillips spent nine years at Content Marketing Institute building content marketing before most companies had a budget line for it — back when executives still asked where “content” even fit in the org chart. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at the Marketing AI Institute, she's watching the same pattern play out again with AI. In this episode, Cathy, Diego, and Alaura dig into what that pattern means for marketers right now — specifically, the risk of using AI to do more of the wrong things, faster. When execution gets effortless, the question shifts from “how do we produce this?” to “should we produce this at all, and does it actually earn trust?” They get into the “productive struggle,” the friction that builds judgment, sharpens instinct, and can't be automated away without real cost. And the hardest question of this moment — in a world of infinite content, how do we protect the work that's worth reading? This one's for anyone who's been moving fast and wondering if they're building or just busy Subscribe to Humans of AI for more stories from people navigating the intersection of business and artificial intelligence. Watch the full video interview on the WRITER YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281-zvPEcDSUJecVImA-KA] for bonus content and deeper insights. Learn more about WRITER at writer.com. [http://writer.com/]

The messy reality of enterprise AI: Lilly Raymond on adoption, trust, and human judgment

We don’t always talk about the human side of transformation. We like the case studies. We like the ROI slides. But what happens when you bring powerful new tools to teams of experts who care deeply about quality, judgment, and craft? In this episode of Humans of AI, host Alaura Weaver and WRITER CMO Diego Lomanto sit down with Lilly Raymond, a marketing executive who has led MarTech and AI transformation across major financial services brands. Lilly shares a practical perspective on leading marketing teams through AI adoption in complex, highly regulated environments. We explore the tension between pride in craft and the need to build new ways of working, and how leaders can navigate workflow, governance, and change management in regulated industries. Lilly discusses why AI’s greatest impact may come from being embedded earlier in the process, helping teams improve the quality, consistency, substantiation, and readiness of content before it reaches legal, compliance, or expert review. Plus, as a university professor, Lilly shares a unique perspective on what the next generation of marketers is telling us about AI, authenticity, and the skills that will matter most as entry-level work evolves. Key takeaways: * Pride in craft:Why experienced teams care deeply about quality, voice, judgment, and professional standards, and how AI adoption works best when it respects that expertise. * The power of vulnerability:How leaders can foster adoption by admitting they don’t have all the answers and learning alongside their teams. * Improving review readiness:Why AI’s biggest impact in regulated industries may be upstream, helping teams strengthen content before it enters legal, compliance, or expert review. * Developing future talent:How changes to entry-level work create a greater need for internships, apprenticeships, and hands-on projects that build human judgment. * The enduring value of storytelling:Why judgment, taste, and the ability to craft a narrative remain critical skills in an AI-driven world. Listen now to hear how leaders can guide teams through the human side of enterprise AI transformation. Subscribe to Humans of AI for more stories from people navigating the intersection of business and artificial intelligence. Watch the full video interview on the WRITER YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281-zvPEcDSUJecVImA-KA] for bonus content and deeper insights. Learn more about WRITER at writer.com. [http://writer.com/]

When the Funnel Collapses: Rebuilding Marketing with AI Agents | Christian Westcott

For decades, the inbound marketing playbook was clear: create content, rank on search engines, and capture leads. But what happens when that machine breaks? In this episode of Humans of AI, hosts Alaura Weaver and WRITER CMO Diego Lomanto sit down with Christian Westcott, a search industry veteran who watched the traditional top-of-funnel collapse as AI search engines changed how buyers find information. Instead of denying the shift, Christian reframed his entire role. We explore the messy, uncomfortable, and necessary process of tearing down your own expertise to build something new. Christian shares how he moved past the fear of obsolescence to build AI agents that eliminated 95% of his team's operational friction, saving 80 hours a month on QA alone. More importantly, he reveals how he's pioneering new ways to measure and capture "AI visibility" in a world where traditional attribution is getting cloudier. If you're a marketing leader trying to figure out how to adapt your team's workflows for the AI era, this episode offers a pragmatic, optimistic look at what's possible when you stop improving the past and start inventing the future. Listen to discover: * Why the shift from search to AI is a move from productivity to differentiation. * How to identify the "cluttered pantry" workflows in your team that are ripe for AI automation. * The reality of building AI agents: why false positives and iteration are part of the process. * How to measure success when traditional attribution models no longer tell the whole story. * The "Monday Morning Action" you can take to start transforming your team's work today. Watch the full unedited conversation on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxG3djReI2cyaem0wi12L9ybD63bViHU] Read the recap blog post [https://writer.com/blog/category/humans-in-the-loop/humans-of-ai-humans-in-the-loop/] Subscribe to Humans of AI for more stories from people navigating the intersection of business and artificial intelligence. Watch the full video interview on the WRITER YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281-zvPEcDSUJecVImA-KA] for bonus content and deeper insights. Learn more about WRITER at writer.com. [http://writer.com/]

The Guardian of Taste: Why slowing down is the ultimate AI strategy with Robert Rose

We all hit the "skip intro" button. We're conditioned to move faster, ship more, and check another box. But what if speed is the wrong metric to optimize for? In this episode of Humans of AI, we sit down with Robert Rose, co-founder of the Content Marketing Institute and former Silicon Valley CMO, to discuss AI in marketing — we're using it to train "button pushers" instead of developing craft. Robert argues that AI is the first technology in 20 years inviting us to slow down, get deeper, and become more creative. He shares his framework for using AI as an "argument room" to pressure-test ideas, why the CMO must become the "guardian of taste," and how to find the valuable friction that differentiates your brand in a sea of AI-generated sameness. In this episode, we cover: * Why 30% of a marketer's time is spent configuring tools instead of telling stories * The danger of "AI theater" and using AI to do more activities without adding value * How to use AI to pressure-test your thinking and find your blind spots * Why the CMO's new role is the "guardian of taste" * How to build quality into your process from the beginning Listen to the full episode to learn how to stop being a button pusher and start making things that matter. WRITER [https://writer.com/] WRITER on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getwriter/posts/?feedView=all] WRITER on X [https://x.com/Get_Writer/highlights] About the Guest: Robert Rose Robert Rose has spent 15+ years helping marketing teams figure out what actually matters‌ — ‌and cut the rest. He's the Chief Strategy Advisor at the Content Marketing Institute [https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/], founder of consulting firm Seventh Bear, [https://www.seventhbear.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorZ91V_s6bu0ODTgB8PlKIZks68Od8NfAtECOggVr7QQTFHPa_W] and the author of five books on content and marketing strategy. He's guided over 500 companies, from Salesforce and Adidas to Roche and NASA, on how to build marketing that earns trust rather than just attention.  He co-hosts the This Old Marketing  [https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/]podcast, teaches the official Content Marketing Strategy certification for the American Marketing Association, and is known for one guiding principle — modern marketing shouldn't rely on spammy funnels, soulless automation, or whatever the latest hack is that'll be obsolete by next Tuesday.  In other words, he’s exactly the right person to talk to about what it means to be a marketer when AI can generate infinite content on demand. Subscribe to Humans of AI for more stories from people navigating the intersection of business and artificial intelligence. Watch the full video interview on the WRITER YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281-zvPEcDSUJecVImA-KA] for bonus content and deeper insights. Learn more about WRITER at writer.com. [http://writer.com/]

The Speed of Action: Bruno Aziza, IBM

Companies spend years building dashboards that told them what to know. Now they’re building AI that tells them what to think. But what companies actually need is AI that takes action on their best ideas. Bruno Aziza, VP, Enterprise Software at IBM, shares why so many AI deployments fail — and the frameworks that separate successful implementations from expensive pilot programs. His insight: one customer now has "50 humans and 150 agents" on their team . The question isn't whether agents will reshape work. It's whether we're building agents that actually do the work. Key frameworks from this conversation: → Agent Minus: The essential pre-agent infrastructure (rules, tools, workflows) that make agents work  → Agent Plus: Orchestrating hundreds of agents across vendors and systems  → FOMO vs. FOMU: The psychological traps killing AI adoption The rule Bruno lives by: "Process useful: automate. Process not useful: eliminate." Most organizations skip step two. Subscribe to Humans of AI for more stories from people navigating the intersection of business and artificial intelligence. Watch the full video interview on the WRITER YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281-zvPEcDSUJecVImA-KA] for bonus content and deeper insights. Learn more about WRITER at writer.com. [http://writer.com/]