By Andrej Persolja is the founder of We Fix Boring
In July, Intel made the controversial announcement that the company would begin “optimizing” much of its marketing department using artificial intelligence. In real terms, that meant wide-spread redundancies for the company’s marketing team. It’s a bold move, which many have hailed as forward-thinking, futuristic, even. But if you know marketing, it’s easy to see just how much could go wrong. And in my view, as someone with more than a decade’s experience within the industry, this is a cost-cutting exercise that could cost Intel dearly, impacting both the integrity of the brand and its ability to stay relevant.
Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, framed the decision for wholesale AI marketing adoption as a form of efficiency. A means to enhance processes with an unspoken nod towards saving money. And there’s no argument that in the longer term, AI holds the potential to be considerably more cost-effective than skilled employees. The problem is that it’s unlikely to carry anywhere near as much value.
The wrong move at the wrong time
Intel operates in one of the most competitive industries in the world. Innovation-driven, there’s no surprise that AI and other tech should be adopted. But while efficiencies are understandable, expected even, the motivation has to be strategy-driven in order to generate the desired effect. In Intel’s case, it doesn’t seem to be, because in industries driven by rapid innovation, public perception and brand narrative, are everything. And taking that out of the hands of experienced, skilful, intuitive marketers in order to give AI free rein is an enormous risk. Especially when you look at the competition.
Take Nvidia. While Intel has been “optimizing” marketing, it’s Nvidia that is dominating the headlines. From AI breakthroughs to cultural relevance and massive enterprise adoption, Nvidia’s marketing team has gone into strategic overdrive, ensuring the company is seen, heard, and branded in all of the right ways. And it’s a strategy that speaks for itself, with Nvidia’s stock growing an incredible 1,540% in the space of the last five years. Intel, in comparison, has seen a 60% decline in value during the same period.
It presents an interesting correlation between marketing value and success.
For too many companies, marketing is still viewed as simply “fannying about with press releases”. But the reality is that there’s so much more to it than ad campaigns and content calendars. It’s about shaping how the world sees you, and how the market understands you. So, although the instinct, when times are tough, is to cut the fluff from a business, it’s time for companies to understand the strategic bones that marketing delivers. Like others before them, Intel has clearly missed this point, and it can only suffer the consequences.
The awkward allure of AI
Of course, in Intel’s defence, it’s not the first company to bet too heavily on AI. Fintech firm Klarna recently laid off 700 customer service employees, in favour of AI systems. Resulting in a complete breakdown in support quality, angry customers, reputational damage, and an eventual U-turn. The difference is that while Klarna lost face from its mistake, Intel could lose so much more. Brand, reputation, status.
So, what should Intel be doing instead?
At this stage, AI adoption is a marker of forward thinking in most industries. In the tech industry, it’s taken as given. As such, it can’t be used as a differentiator. What Intel should be doing if it wants to reclaim relevance and gain positive headlines is to out-market its competitors, not out-automate them. That means human-led storytelling, emotionally intelligent brand building, and strategic content creation. By all means, AI can play a part in that. It can support a strong marketing team, acting as a force multiplier for them. Making them smarter, faster, and more creative. Not cheaper. And certainly not replacing them.
AI is a tool, not a strategy
It’s not too late for Intel to reclaim the narrative. It can still remind the world why it matters, of its innovation and drive. But it needs to take lessons from Nvidia. Although it’s important to remember that it’s not the products that are winning this very public battle, it’s the brand, the voice, the public awareness, and the marketing team’s ability to showcase its creative and technological prowess.
AI may be able to help with this process, but when it comes to making the human connection necessary to build a brand, you require people. The strategists and storytellers who understand nuance, culture, and emotion.
AI is a tool. It is not a strategy. When everyone is using AI to generate content, every brand will look the same: average. It’s the brands that understand that differentiation comes from people, from emotional intelligence, from unstructured creativity – and that AI is just there to support the grunt work that leads to that – that will ultimately win.
It remains to be seen whether Intel will be one of the number.
