OpenAI’s recent experiments with AI-generated metafiction sparked fierce debate. But beyond the literary discussions, there is food for thought for marketers who have long chased the dream of personalisation. We started by targeting segments. Then personas. Are we now getting closer to marketing to an audience of one with messages that feel like they were written for me, not just someone like me.
Focus On: From Reach to Resonance
Generative AI enables marketing that adapts in real time to individual preferences, emotions, and behavioural signals. This means, for example:
Campaigns that rewrite themselves based on the reader’s context.
Web experiences that shape-shift according to emotional cues.
Brand narratives that mirror the customer’s internal monologue.
This might even feel awkward, just like display ads retargeting was in its early days, but it indeed feels a natural evolution of the application of Generative AI to marketing: just as the best human copywriters know how to evoke emotion and build connection, AI can be trained to do the same—only at scale.
Great, high quality content that excites is making a big comeback. Somewhere between performance obsession and endless keywords, marketers lost the plot.
A Paradigm Shift in Brand Strategy
For CMOs, CIOs, and Chief Transformation Officers, this new landscape requires a rethink of brand architecture, MarTech stacks, and team capabilities. AI-first marketing means:
Investing in dynamic content systems, not static asset libraries.
Prioritising emotional intelligence alongside data intelligence.
Rethinking consent and privacy in a world where content feels personal.
Crucially, context is everything. Rather than targeting based on assumptions, brands now have the opportunity to meet people where they are—based on what they’re reading, exploring, and thinking about in the moment. When your message shows up in a relevant space, it feels helpful—not disruptive. It can even surface new audiences you hadn’t considered.
Even more, content-led strategies aren’t just for “complex” industries anymore. Once seen as the domain of B2B or regulated sectors, storytelling has become critical for even the most recognisable B2C brands. People now expect transparency, values, and a reason to engage beyond a punchy headline. They want to know what you stand for.
Native advertising is making this seamless. When your story lives inside trusted content—not just in between it—it doesn’t feel like an ad. It feels like part of the experience. That’s the beauty of native formats: no interruption, just meaningful communication.
Adobe’s Agentic AI tools already hint at this direction: Brand Concierge and Audience Agents that learn customer tone, refine language in real time, and adapt journeys dynamically. As explored in a previous issue, “From Celebrities to Microcultures,“ the future is about relevance over reach, precision over presence.
Next Steps
If you want to prepare for this shift, consider:
Audit your content engine – How modular, adaptable, and real-time is your content today?
Prioritise AI readiness – Do you have clean, labelled, persona-rich data to train against?
Invest in prompts, not just platforms – Prompt engineering is the new copywriting.
Pilot at the edges – Start with high-volume but low-risk journeys (e.g. onboarding flows, loyalty campaigns).
Above all, shift your mindset: marketing is no longer about storytelling to an audience. It is about story listening and story shaping with every interaction.
Welcome to the age of one.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Chronicles of Change and on my social media accounts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of S&P Global.