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A warning to business leaders adopting generative AI without a plan

A warning to business leaders adopting generative AI without a plan
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., during a panel discussion at the Technical University in Berlin, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dean McCoubrey
By Dean McCoubrey
9 Apr 2025
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While the tools have become more sophisticated, our grasp of how to use them – wisely, ethically, effectively – has not kept pace.

In late March 2025, OpenAI rolled out its upgraded visual toolset, coinciding with the release a few days later of MidJourney 7 and Meta’s Llama 4. Almost overnight, a new era of creativity, execution, and automation became instantly accessible with just a click. We can now produce dazzling visuals, brainstorm campaigns and craft brand content faster and cheaper than before. It’s better at text in images too; up until now it’s been a bit of a dog’s dinner.

But here’s the question business leaders urgently need to ask: are we deploying these tools with real understanding and intention, or are we like lemmings off a cliff. 

Because, while the tools have become more sophisticated, our grasp of how to use them – wisely, ethically, effectively – has not kept pace. There’s a growing disconnect between what we can now do and why we’re doing it. And if we’re not careful, the long-term impact could be damaging, not empowering.

Just because we can doesn’t mean we should


Yes, we can now execute at an incredible scale. Tasks that used to take days are done in minutes. The bottlenecks are breaking down across departments: marketing, product, customer service and sales. But what’s the outcome? What are we measuring against?

If we produce faster, but it doesn’t resonate, move people or build loyalty, have we actually progressed? We will have saved money, but we might not generate more revenue from the output.

This is an uncomfortable truth. 
Most companies, in their rush to integrate AI, haven’t built the foundations.

We are seeing companies move headlong into AI integration, producing at speed, pumping out content and automating entire workflows without stopping to assess whether any of it truly matters to the people it’s intended for. 

The end goal is not output. It is impact.

Does it matter to an audience? Does it evoke emotion, provoke thought or earn trust? Will they remember it tomorrow? Will they buy and stay and believe? Will it help build relationships that last longer than your competitors’ next promotion?

In advertising, frequency is important, so pumping out content is great for that reason… but what if the frequency of obvious AI slush is turning customers against you because the end result of what customers see in ads or their social feed is actually giving them the “ick”. I frequently see AI work that is transparent and embarrassing. Time saved, but customer lost.

Building castles on sand


There’s another layer to this; one that doesn’t get enough airtime. Most companies, in their rush to integrate AI, haven’t built the foundations. They haven’t put an AI policy in place. They don’t know which teams are using which tools, or for what purpose. And more dangerously, they haven’t set the guardrails – the ethical, legal and reputational boundaries – that keep innovation safe and aligned with company values.

In many cases, the foundations don’t even exist. There’s no training. No governance. No change management. Just enthusiasm. And that’s not a strategy. It’s chaos in disguise.
The more accessible creativity becomes, the more transparent your thinking is.

When we launched Humaine, a human-centric AI agency, last October at the World AI Summit in Amsterdam, the most consistent messages we heard from the world’s top speakers were: Understand what you’re playing with. Take a beat. Work out where AI fits, not just in your marketing strategy but your business strategy. Then, brick by brick, build something solid, something sustainable.

Place your plan on guardrails. Train your team. Communicate with them so they feel safe and supported. Consider your reputation; what happens if someone messes up? And would you even know they had? Is a non-authorised AI tool being used right now by someone in your organisation? It’s likely. What’s the plan if that results in a breach or a brand backlash?

These are not hypotheticals. They are the lived reality of this moment. The pace is electric. The stakes are high.

generative AI Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, during a panel discussion at the Technical University in Berlin, Germany, on 7 February 2025. (Photo: Yen Duong / Bloomberg via Getty Images)


Fast doesn’t mean valuable


It’s worth pausing to consider what’s unfolding in front of us. Yes, execution and ideas just became cheap. But will the returns be equally cheap? Will customers roll their eyes at predictable, rushed campaigns? Will clients quietly disengage because they sense you’re cutting corners with fast, soulless content?

There is a risk that some brands lose trust, loyalty and distinction – not through any ill intention, but through a lack of depth and discernment.

Read more: AI will continue to grow in 2025. But it will face major challenges along the way

Read more: The ‘Future of Work’: Balancing AI efficiency with human dignity in a changing landscape

In trying to do everything quickly, they may end up saying nothing of value at all. This is the paradox of powerful tools. They offer so much, but they also expose you. The more accessible creativity becomes, the more transparent your thinking is. If there’s no substance behind the speed, audiences will feel it and walk.

We need to be careful. We need to stay sharp. We need to use this power wisely and stay aware of what it might be doing to our teams, our customers, and our creative edge. Because while AI can elevate us, it can just as easily distract, dilute or deceive, especially if no one is paying attention.

The choice is ours


We’ve entered a new zone. The tools got better. The playing field shifted. But the scoreboard hasn’t changed. For the recipients, what we produce is still about what matters, whether we’re creating something that resonates, that moves people, that builds real, human relationships in a world increasingly mediated by machines.

We are human, so we can deploy that, but we will need to dig deeper into connecting with what else matters besides speed or cheap production. I am delighted by the fact that AI helps people who never had access to such a fast track, and for those people I truly celebrate the opportunity that now exists. I make a point of training and showing many people what it can do for them if they didn’t know about it, and don’t have the means to get private tutoring, or how to maintain their car, or side-hustle ideas. 

The warning is more to those who have companies. Beware how (fast and loose) you approach this over the next 12 months. You’re in for a wild ride. Get a little advice, and if you use ChatGPT for that too, may the force be with you. DM

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