There’s no question that marketing is changing – the use of AI and automation appears to offer a fantastic future of frictionless marketing workflows. A 2025 report by Epsilon found that 94% of organisations were already using AI in their marketing efforts. The minority who were not using it planned to do so within the next year.
But while AI will increasingly automate the mechanics of marketing, it’s down to humans to protect what underpins it. This article examines how these human capabilities, which have served marketers so well in the past, will remain important long into the future. And we will look at why this question is so critical for brands and marketers in the GCC region – a place with world-leading AI adoption and smartphone penetration.
The Human Ability to Pick up on Emotional Undercurrents
AI is extremely good at analysing patterns. It can do this on a scale and at a speed that was previously unimaginable. But it’s humans who sense nuance, and it’s humans who are going to interpret this data and use it to create something that other humans will respond to.
Great marketers have always been able to read between the lines. That means listening intently, observing, and picking out the emotional undercurrents that seem to be shaping a decision. This skill allows them to pick up on the subtle anxieties and aspirations that can then be addressed in any given marketing message.
Because every campaign starts with understanding people’s unspoken needs and the way they talk about problems. Sometimes the issue lies in frustrations that customers can’t quite put into words. These insights cannot be extracted from a dataset alone – understanding them requires human empathy and intuition.
The Art of Being Curious
In the early days of marketing, everyone was a generalist. They did a bit of everything and were focused on exploring human behaviour and trying to find and follow threads that others seemed to be ignoring.
Today, marketing roles are divided into specialisms – brand, digital, SEO, creative, analytics, and so on – but the best marketers still have that same restless instinct and want to ask the uncomfortable question to see where it leads. They are curious about human behaviour and how people make decisions.
Clearly, AI can generate endless options which can help start the process. But it’s curiosity that will help the marketer go that bit deeper and make their work resonate more with the audience. And the more curious you are, the less likely you are to fall into complacency.
The Craft of Storytelling
We need to move away from the idea that storytelling is simply a matter of assembling sentences and using the three-act structure. It’s ultimately about conveying emotion – whether that’s tension, aspiration, hope, and so on. A story needs to feel human and move someone on a deep level. It also needs to align the brand with a human truth that resonates.
Great marketers draw from their own lives – their culture, humour and imagination are all fair game for inspiration. Their lived experience informs a story’s feel and rhythm, giving their work an immediately recognisable character and texture that cannot be replicated. It’s quirky, it feels unique, and the message is unforgettable. Human storytellers protect the unpredictability that makes marketing memorable.
Making Judgements – and Taking Risks
The human marketer needs to make some difficult calls. How provocative should a campaign be? How far to push it? Should we prioritise short-term performance or are we going for long-term brand value? Is there an instinct saying that in a particular case we shouldn’t follow the data?
These are huge questions for marketing leaders and their teams to work through. To do this, it’s necessary to draw on personal experience and ethical considerations, always bearing in mind cultural sensitivities. It’s also important to have a thorough understanding of risk matched with the courage to make a decision without access to all the information. Sometimes the right judgement is to break the rules.
Creativity is the willingness to take the risk even if you might be wrong. It involves a measure of defiance that must be championed. Creativity pulls on cultural nuance, emotion, lived experience, and humour. These are things that machines cannot fully internalise, and so, for anything creative, leading marketers use AI as a launchpad rather than a total solution.
The Importance of Empathy
Empathy is the ability to imagine what it feels like to stand in someone else’s shoes. This is a skill that goes beyond theoretical or demographic data and resides in emotion and the lived experience of a customer.
The best marketers understand people’s fears about money. They understand the desire for belonging and the complexity of identity, because they share them. And they know that there are often quiet motivations behind everyday choices.
Empathy allows us to respect audiences rather than try to manipulate them. If an audience feels they are being manipulated, or that the message lacks authenticity, they will switch off.
While AI adoption and smartphone penetration in the GCC are amongst the best in the world, the countries in the region also rely heavily on personal connections and networks. Word of mouth still matters. This situation presents an interesting challenge for the marketer, but it’s also an opportunity to blend those human skills of personal connection and authenticity with modern marketing techniques to deliver emotionally intelligent storytelling.
Going Forward
Marketing shapes and reflects how people see themselves and the world. The messages we amplify, the biases we avoid or perpetuate, as well as the products we champion and the stories we tell, all come together to influence culture.
It has never been solely about tools. It has always been about people and what we notice, what we feel, what we imagine, and how we connect. And it is human judgement that ultimately ensures marketing remains responsible.
In a world transformed by technology, the marketers who thrive are those who pair AI capability with the traits we have discussed. The smartest marketers won’t try to compete with machines. Instead, they’ll focus on what only humans can do: bring heart, courage, and truth to the work.
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