15 Marketing Functions To Be Cautious About Automating

"Automation has become a powerful tool in modern marketing, helping teams move faster, personalize messaging at scale and optimize their campaigns in real time. However, not every function is suited to a "set it and forget it" approach. In some areas, relying too much on automation can weaken strategy, undermine trust or even harm the customer experience. Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council discuss where campaign automation can backfire. Check out their insights below to learn what can be done to mitigate the negative effects."

"AI can backfire in many areas of advertising. Ad platforms like Meta and Google are finely tuned to maximize profits and please shareholders. Many of the automated features in campaigns are designed to do just that: run up ad spend. You must be extremely diligent in reviewing which automated features make sense. - T. Maxwell, eMaximize"

"2. Community Building Community building is something that AI can never fully replace. A true community is built on authentic, genuine connections and human emotions. People can sense context, mood and cultural relevance better than any AI. - Michael Kuzminov, HypeFactory 3. Content Creation There are many forms of automation for marketing efforts. Some are proven platforms, while others, such as AI, may not be fully vetted and provide inconsistent outcomes. For example, using a social media posting tool provides an excellent format for scheduling with accuracy and ease. However, training a GPT to do your writing can require a great deal of effort to get it right, or it can cause chaos. - Terry Zelen, Zelen Communications"

Automation accelerates marketing workflows, enables scalable personalization and permits real-time campaign optimization. Automated ad-platform features can prioritize platform profit, increasing ad spend if unchecked. Community building requires human empathy, cultural awareness and contextual judgment that AI cannot fully replicate. Automated content tools and AI writing assistants can streamline scheduling and production but may produce inconsistent results, requiring substantial training and oversight. Pre-scheduled social posts lack situational awareness and may miss competitive or environmental shifts. Marketers must evaluate which automated features align with strategy, maintain human review processes and preserve authentic engagement to avoid undermining trust or damaging customer experience.

Read at Forbes