AI Strawman Fallacy

"Are You Using AI?" Is the Wrong Question. And It's Killing Strategic Thinking.

The most misleading question in marketing right now? "Are you using AI?" It's framed like a binary litmus test: you're either forward-thinking or falling behind. But this simplification masks a much deeper problem.

The current discourse around AI in digital marketing has become a strawman debate — where asking "do you use AI?" replaces the harder, more valuable questions: How are you using AI? Where does it add value? When is human judgment irreplaceable?

The Real Questions to Ask

Before adopting any AI tool, ask yourself:

• What specific problem does this solve?
• How does it integrate with our existing workflow?
• What's the cost of getting it wrong?
• How will we measure its impact?

Using AI strategically means knowing when not to use it just as much as when to use it.