The Most Overhyped AI Use Case in Marketing Right Now

Introduction

Dave Steer, CMO of $4B design-forward tech company Webflow, cuts through the AI hype with a clear perspective: content generation as an end goal is the most overhyped use case in marketing today. With over two decades of experience leading marketing at GitLab, Cloudflare, Facebook, and Twitter, Steer brings a pragmatic view to AI adoption that challenges conventional thinking about where marketers should focus their AI efforts.

Why Content Generation Falls Short

According to Steer, while content creation serves as a good entry point for AI adoption, treating it as the ultimate goal misses the bigger picture. "Content is a good entryway in AI adoption, AI usage, but it is not all nine i ings. It is the first i ing. It's your way of getting onto the field," Steer explains. This perspective shifts the focus from simply producing more content to understanding how AI can transform entire marketing workflows and customer experiences.

The Real AI Opportunity: Agentic AI and Workflows

Steer identifies the true potential of AI in marketing lies in agentic AI and AI-powered workflows that bring teams together. Rather than focusing on individual content pieces, the opportunity is in "putting the marketer at the center of orchestrating a whole set of customer experiences." This approach moves beyond simple content generation to creating intelligent systems that can automate complex marketing processes while keeping human expertise at the helm.

Building Orchestration Over Output

The shift from content creation to workflow orchestration represents a fundamental change in how marketers should approach AI. Benjamin Shapiro reinforces this point, noting he spends "so much more time building orchestration and workflows to give context to a large language model" than actually working within the model itself. This investment in building proper workflows and context enables marketers to become editors and strategists rather than content producers, fundamentally changing their role and impact.

Practical Implementation Strategies

The key to leveraging AI effectively lies in creating workflows that automate tasks while maintaining strategic oversight. Instead of using AI tools for one-off content requests like show notes or LinkedIn copy, successful marketers are building comprehensive systems that handle entire processes. This approach allows marketing teams to focus on high-value activities like strategy, creativity, and customer experience optimization while AI handles the execution of routine tasks.

Conclusion

Dave Steer's insights challenge marketers to think beyond the immediate gratification of AI-generated content and focus on building intelligent workflows that transform how marketing teams operate. By treating content generation as merely the first i ing rather than the entire game, marketers can unlock AI's true potential to orchestrate customer experiences, automate complex workflows, and elevate their role from content creators to strategic orchestrators. The future of AI in marketing isn't about producing more content—it's about creating smarter systems that amplify human expertise and drive meaningful business results.