About This Episode:
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where marketing and sales teams stare at each other like rival factions from a medieval war, you know the struggle.
Marketers are trying to create content that drives leads, sales teams are looking for high-quality conversations, and somewhere in between, there’s a whole lot of frustration.
At IMPACT, we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses worldwide, and we see it all the time.
The tension between these teams isn’t because they don’t want the same outcome—it’s because they’re often speaking different languages.
And now, with AI transforming the way content is created, the divide is widening.In this episode, Alex Winter sat down with John Becker, a content trainer at IMPACT, to tackle a question that’s keeping marketers and sales pros up at night: How do we use AI to create content without losing the human element?
The AI boom—and why it matters
“AI is the new revolution. It’s the new .com bubble,” Alex remarked early in the conversation. And it’s true—everywhere you turn, there’s a new AI tool promising to make content creation effortless. ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper, you name it. However, as John pointed out, “The tool that seems great today can fold up tomorrow.”
The AI landscape is still a Wild West, full of rapid innovation and uncertainty. Companies are experimenting, but few have figured out how to truly integrate AI in a way that feels authentic and lasting. Businesses that blindly copy and paste AI-generated content into their marketing efforts run the risk of sounding just like everyone else.
And that’s the problem.
As Alex noted, “I can tell now when someone just pulled something from GPT. There are a lot of hyphenated words and weak, generic language.”
AI content, when used improperly, feels hollow. It’s technically correct but lacks warmth, perspective, and originality. So how do we leverage AI without falling into that trap?
AI as an assistant, not a replacement
John made a key point: “Any time AI is replacing you, you’re probably not doing it right.”
That’s because AI isn’t meant to replace human creativity—it’s meant to enhance it. When marketers use AI as a shortcut instead of a tool, the result is content that’s bland and interchangeable.
Instead, AI should be treated like a sparring partner, a brainstorming assistant that helps refine ideas and structure content. John shared an example:
“I was working with a content manager who had never written web copy before. He was on a tight deadline and needed to create a compelling landing page. So he wrote a rough draft and then used AI to generate five alternative versions of each headline. None of them were perfect, but they sparked new ideas and helped him refine his copy into something much stronger.”
This is AI at its best—speeding up the creative process without stripping away the human touch.
How to make AI content feel more human
So, if AI alone produces robotic content, what makes content human?
John broke it down into a few key elements:
- Conversational tone: AI tends to default to a formal, stilted style unless prompted otherwise. “Starting sentences with ‘but’ or using humor immediately makes writing feel more natural,” John said. Writing in a way that mimics natural speech patterns makes content easier to read and more engaging.
- Personal stories & opinions: AI doesn’t have lived experiences, but you do. Bringing in personal anecdotes, insights, or pop culture references makes the content feel alive. When people see authentic, real-world experiences, they connect more deeply with the message. Think about how the best TED Talks or keynote speakers infuse their presentations with stories that stick with the audience.
- Intentional imperfections: Perfectly structured, sanitized writing is forgettable. Real human communication has quirks, emotions, and even the occasional intentional grammar break. When appropriate, using sentence fragments, rhetorical questions, or casual language can make the content feel more natural and relatable.
- Engagement & interaction: Humans respond to content that makes them think, react, or feel something. Including open-ended questions, inviting reader participation, and writing with a sense of curiosity or challenge can drive higher engagement. AI often lacks the instinct to create that emotional hook, so it’s up to the writer to infuse energy into the content.
- Strong opinions & standpoints: AI-generated content is often neutral and lacks strong viewpoints. But great content challenges perspectives, introduces bold ideas and isn’t afraid to take a stance. Readers don’t want generic fluff—they want insight, expertise, and content that makes them think differently.
At the end of the day, audiences don’t connect with polished, corporate-speak—they connect with real people who have something valuable to say and say it in a way that resonates.
Training AI to sound like you
If you’ve ever tried to get AI to match your brand’s voice, you know it’s not as simple as hitting “generate.” As Alex put it, “You can train GPT, but you have to know how to prompt it.”
AI can learn your style over time, but it requires consistent feedback. The best way to do this is through a back-and-forth conversation with the tool:
- Start with a sample of your own writing.
- Ask AI to rewrite it in a few different styles.
- Refine it by saying, “Make it more casual,” or “Make it sound like this blog post I wrote.”
Beyond simple rewrites, AI can be trained more effectively by feeding it structured guidelines about tone, phrasing, and style preferences. Many AI tools now offer custom instructions where you can define the formality level, preferred sentence structure, and even signature phrases or quirks your brand uses.
Another effective strategy is creating a ‘voice document’—a guide that outlines your company’s tone, audience, and writing nuances. Feeding AI-specific examples from this document can help it learn and replicate your unique voice more accurately over time.
Additionally, using iterative refinement—going back and forth with AI-generated drafts, providing detailed feedback, and gradually improving its outputs—can significantly enhance its ability to reflect your brand’s voice. Think of it as training an intern; the more precise your instructions and corrections, the better the results will be.
At the end of the day, AI should be a complement to your brand’s storytelling, not a substitute. By continually fine-tuning its understanding of your style, you can ensure that your content remains engaging, relatable, and unmistakably you.
AI’s role in marketing & sales alignment
One of the most overlooked benefits of AI is its ability to help marketing and sales teams work together more effectively.
As John pointed out, AI can transcribe and analyze sales calls, making it easier for marketers to extract the exact questions buyers are asking. Instead of spending an hour watching a call, marketers can ask AI: “Summarize every time the customer asked about pricing,” and immediately get relevant insights.
This means content teams can produce articles, videos, and sales materials that directly address customer concerns—without wasting hours sifting through recordings. But beyond just summarizing, AI can detect patterns in buyer concerns over time, helping teams refine their messaging and align their strategies more effectively.
Additionally, AI-driven tools like Gong and Chorus can analyze sentiment, engagement levels, and objections raised during calls. Sales teams can use this data to refine their pitches, while marketing teams can create content that preemptively addresses recurring objections, making the sales process smoother and more efficient.
AI also helps bridge the gap between departments by fostering better communication. By providing real-time insights on lead behavior and content engagement, marketing can deliver more qualified leads to sales, ensuring that conversations are more productive and closing rates improve.
Ultimately, AI isn’t just making individual tasks easier—it’s enabling a more cohesive, data-driven collaboration between marketing and sales that leads to better business outcomes.
How much time should you spend experimenting with AI?
With so many tools out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But ignoring AI altogether isn’t an option either. So how much time should content managers spend testing AI tools?
John’s advice: “If you’re struggling with something, there’s probably an AI tool that can help.”
Set aside a small amount of time each week—maybe 30 minutes—to explore new AI features. Try tools like:
Beyond just testing tools, it’s essential to document what works best for your workflow. Keeping a log of AI successes and failures can help refine your approach and save time in the future. Additionally, participating in AI-focused communities, such as LinkedIn groups or industry webinars, can provide insights into how others are successfully using AI in their content strategies.
The key is to treat AI experimentation as an investment rather than a distraction. Over time, these small blocks of learning will add up, helping you work smarter, not harder.
Remember, AI is not a substitute for authenticity
AI should be part of your content process—but it should never replace the human element. It’s here to make you better, not to make you invisible.
The businesses that thrive in the AI age won’t be the ones producing generic, machine-written content. They’ll be the ones who use AI as a tool to amplify their voices, streamline their workflows, and focus on what truly matters: Building trust with their audience.
At the end of the day, keep it real. Stay authentic, stay creative, and always keep your audience at the heart of everything you create.
Connect with John
John Becker is a coach, trainer, marketer, speaker, and writer. A New Haven-area native, John studied at UPenn, Middlebury, and UMass, and has previously worked in both corporate and nonprofit settings.
Connect with John on LinkedIn
Keep Learning
