The Biggest Risk of Marketers Trusting AI

Introduction

Dave Steer, CMO of Webflow, reveals a critical blind spot in how marketers are adopting AI tools. With over two decades of experience leading marketing at companies like GitLab, Cloudflare, Facebook, and Twitter, Steer brings a unique perspective on maintaining strategic thinking while leveraging AI's capabilities. His insights challenge the common assumption that AI adoption is purely about efficiency gains, instead highlighting the importance of human judgment in an AI-powered marketing landscape.

The Danger of Lazy Marketing

Steer identifies the core risk: marketers who "stop thinking for themselves" and blindly accept AI outputs without applying critical judgment. He describes encountering "lazy marketing" where professionals simply input prompts into ChatGPT or Claude and immediately implement the results—whether that's sending emails, creating briefs, or developing experimentation strategies. This abdication of strategic thinking represents a fundamental misunderstanding of AI's role in marketing operations.

The real danger isn't in the technology itself, but in forgetting what Steer calls "the important role that the marketer serves as a human being and chief orchestrator of creativity and brand building." When marketers treat AI as a replacement rather than an enhancement for their expertise, the result is predictably sloppy execution that fails to co ect with audiences or drive meaningful business outcomes.

The Mind-Numbing Effect of AI Dependency

Benjamin Shapiro's personal experience with "vibe coding" illustrates how easy it is to fall into passive thinking patterns when working with AI. After spending hours building automated workflows, he finds himself unable to process basic thoughts, comparing it to being "mind numbed" from the constant back-and-forth of accepting AI suggestions without understanding the underlying logic. This cognitive laziness extends beyond technical tasks—marketers repeatedly asking for copy, briefs, and creative outputs can lose their ability to think strategically about whether those outputs actually serve their goals.

AI as Your Chief of Staff: A Game-Changing Approach

Steer shares a transformative use case that demonstrates how to maintain strategic thinking while maximizing AI's value. His CEO created a custom "CMO chief of staff GPT" loaded with company context, insights, and decision-making frameworks. Initially serving as an onboarding buddy, the AI evolved into a daily strategic partner designed to challenge Steer's thinking and push him toward "top 1% CMO" performance.

Building Your AI Partner

The key to this approach lies in treating AI as a strategic advisor rather than a task executor. Steer uses his AI chief of staff "at least once a day as my partner," emphasizing the collaborative nature of the relationship. By programming the AI to challenge assumptions and ask probing questions—similar to Shapiro's "Jarvis" assistant that continuously prompts for deeper thinking—marketers can leverage AI to enhance rather than replace their strategic capabilities.

Conclusion

The biggest risk in trusting AI isn't about the technology failing—it's about marketers failing themselves by surrendering their critical thinking and strategic judgment. As Steer emphasizes, marketers must maintain their role as "chief orchestrators" who use AI as a powerful tool while retaining responsibility for creativity, brand building, and growth strategy. The path forward requires treating AI as a chief of staff that challenges and enhances human thinking, not as a replacement for the uniquely human elements that drive marketing success. For marketing leaders navigating the AI boom, the message is clear: embrace AI's capabilities, but never abdicate your role as the strategic thinker behind the technology.