AI and Marketing Performance
I’ve worked at the intersection of media, marketing and the people-side of performance for more than three decades. Long enough to remember when digital was a sideshow. Long enough to watch social, mobile, programmatic, martech stacks, and performance dashboards all arrive with the same promise:
More capability. Better results. Faster growth.
AI belongs in that lineage.
It absolutely expands what’s possible.
But here’s the part we don’t talk about enough:
expanded potential doesn’t automatically become better performance.
What determines that outcome isn’t the tool.
It’s the level of interference surrounding the work.
The Familiar Pattern
Every major technology shift starts the same way.
New tools arrive.
Expectations rise.
Timelines compress.
Output demands increase.
And quietly, the conditions of the work change.
Marketers aren’t just asked to do better work.
They’re asked to do more work, faster, with less certainty, while staying “strategic,” “creative,” and “data-driven” at the same time.
AI accelerates that pattern.
Yes, it can generate ideas, copy, visuals, analysis, and options at scale.
But it also introduces new pressure:
- More decisions, more often
- More iterations, fewer pauses
- More visibility, less forgiveness
- More activity mistaken for progress
The result?
Potential goes up. Interference goes up with it.
What Interference Looks Like in Marketing Teams
Interference isn’t laziness or lack of skill.
It’s what gets in the way of capability showing up cleanly.
In marketing environments, it often sounds like:
- “We could run with this, but let’s see what else AI gives us.”
- “We don’t have time to think it through—just ship something.”
- “Leadership wants more options, not necessarily better ones.”
- “We’re reacting to signals, not setting direction.”
Interference shows up as:
- Fragmented attention
- Second-guessing decisions
- Overproduction without clarity
- Endless refinement with no real finish line
None of that means people aren’t capable.
It means the conditions are noisy.
Why AI Magnifies This
AI doesn’t just add capacity.
It amplifies whatever environment it’s dropped into.
In a clear system, it speeds learning and execution.
In a cluttered system, it accelerates confusion.
When priorities aren’t stable, AI produces more work around unstable goals.
When direction isn’t clear, AI creates more options instead of better ones.
When pressure dominates, AI becomes another lever to pull harder—rather than a way to work smarter.
The tool isn’t the problem.
The environment determines the outcome.
Performance Has Always Worked This Way
Long before AI, the best marketing work emerged when:
- Direction was clear enough to focus
- Constraints were understood, not constantly shifting
- Judgment was trusted, not endlessly reviewed
- Teams had room to think, not just respond
That hasn’t changed.
What’s changed is the speed at which interference now compounds.
AI raises the ceiling.
But interference lowers the floor.
And most teams feel that gap every day.
The Real Question for Marketers
The question isn’t, “Are we using AI enough?”
It’s:
- Are we clear on what actually matters right now?
- Are decisions getting simpler or more crowded?
- Is attention helping the work—or draining it?
- Are we creating conditions where good judgment can surface?
Because when interference drops, capability shows up fast.
No motivational push required.
A Practical Takeaway
If you’re a marketer navigating AI right now, don’t start by adding tools.
Start by noticing:
- Where attention gets pulled away from meaningful work
- Where speed replaces thinking
- Where optionality replaces commitment
Reduce that interference—even slightly—and AI starts doing what it was always meant to do:
Support the work.
Not overwhelm it.
Expanded potential is real.
But performance still depends on the conditions surrounding the work.
That part hasn’t changed in 30 years.