{"id":3677,"date":"2026-01-14T09:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T09:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/h1copy.com\/blog\/?p=3677"},"modified":"2026-02-09T07:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T07:40:11","slug":"saas-marketers-share-what-not-to-use-ai-for-and-how-they-use-it-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/h1copy.com\/blog\/saas-marketers-share-what-not-to-use-ai-for-and-how-they-use-it-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Saas Marketers Share What Not To Use AI For (And How They Use It Instead)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The conversation around AI<\/a> in content has become oddly polarised lately. You\u2019re expected to either be \u201call in\u201d or firmly against it, i.e. the \u201cAI will replace writers\u201d versus the \u201c<\/em>over my dead keyboard\u201d brigade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s missing from the discourse is nuance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not whether AI belongs in content, but where should experienced practitioners deliberately draw the line?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This matters, especially now. According to Gartner<\/a>, by 2026, over 80% of marketing content will be influenced by generative AI. And this projection, as wild as it sounds, is already arriving in Google Docs, CMS dashboards, and Monday morning standups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So instead of arguing from the extremes, we went to the middle, to the people actually doing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 13 SaaS marketers, editors, and strategists with 3\u201320+ years of experience across B2B, SaaS, and growth teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked a simple question: how do you use AI in your work (or consciously avoid it)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we found was a consensus on the moments AI earns a seat at the table, and the moments it\u2019s politely (or firmly) shown the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of this piece unpacks exactly what they drew those lines around, and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #1: No one lets AI touch the \u201cfirst thought\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our little survey revealed that the \u201cfirst thought\u201d is sacred territory and every senior marketer draws a big red circle around it. They refuse to let AI dictate the original point of view or initial positioning of their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Juliet John<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Juliet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“I avoid using AI for brainstorming before figuring out my POV for any piece. The reason is that AI has a way of stripping you of your creativity. It always seems like a shortcut, so I take extra steps to not outsource my thinking to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my work, I use AI as an assistant \u2014 like when I get stuck or already have an idea but need help bringing it into perspective clearly. This could be in the writing or editing phase. I also never use AI-generated content or ideas as-is. I believe it is lazy to do that. If AI sparks an idea that I think makes sense, I try to build on it and validate it before using or discarding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also use AI tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT for research. For instance, instead of looking for research materials one by one, I ask them to compile a report with recent data sources on the topic I\u2019m working on. Then, I drill into the sources myself to see if they\u2019re relevant and pick out the points I need.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Tunde Rasheed<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Tunde<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

“Honestly, I can\u2019t give a straight answer to that because of how versatile AI is and how many different ways it can be used. But one thing I can say for sure is that I\u2019ll never outsource my thinking to AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do the thinking most of the time. If the execution is something that AI can handle efficiently without affecting the integrity of the work, then I\u2019ll bring it in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I\u2019m in the research phase of writing, I\u2019m the one deciding what direction to take \u2014 which sources matter, and what needs to be referenced. Instead of spending hours manually searching for credible materials, I\u2019ll just prompt ChatGPT to pull them up for me, and I get a solid list in seconds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another use case is when I need to extract specific information from a large body of text. Say I\u2019m writing a review article and want to include relevant user-generated content. Instead of scrolling endlessly, I just paste the text into AI and ask it to identify the sections that fit my criteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those are just two examples, but my point is: I use AI mainly to enhance efficiency and not to replace my creative process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I\u2019ve also realized is that AI has an incredible ability to polish what I\u2019ve already written. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an amplifier. It makes what\u2019s good even better, and what\u2019s bad even worse.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This makes sense in an era where 70% of buyers<\/a> say thought leadership influences their trust in a brand. Moreover, AI only excels at remixing existing patterns, but it lacks the capacity for origination. It can tell you what has been said, not what should be said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What SaaS marketers use instead are the raw materials AI cannot manufacture. They use their human intuition that\u2019s been shaped by thousands of real-life interactions and customer conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #2: AI is an accelerator, not a researcher<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Across our survey, SaaS marketers were unanimous on the fact that AI should never be trusted with truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one delegates source credibility decisions, final fact validation, or claim ownership to a model that doesn\u2019t understand consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Meghan (Largent) T.<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Meghan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

“First off, I don’t love AI, but I’m trying to get more used to it since everything is trending in that direction. I’m a copy editor for B2B\/SaaS articles, so I see a lot of AI-generated articles coming down the pipeline. As a result, a lot of what I’m doing these days is compensating for other people using AI. I do use it a bit in my own work now, though. For example, I have a client that wants SME reviews, but we’ve streamlined the workflow so I run articles through Perplexity to check for content accuracy and content depth. That’s worked fairly well so far, to the best of my knowledge. I also use Perplexity to help me with SEO optimization (mostly for subheads).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I absolutely will never use AI for is to fully create content. In my opinion, it’s a great assistant for various smaller\/supplemental tasks, but it should never be used to fully replace any creative processes, especially writing (or if it is used to that far of an extent, a lot of self-editing is required to whip it into shape so it’s more palatable for the humans who read it). A lot of companies are trying to replace us human editors\/writers with AI because it’s cheaper, but that’s only going to hurt the content industry (and the job industry, by extension) in the long run. It already has, in my opinion. People don’t want to read what a bot has to say\u2014only humans can really write in a way that matters to other humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, AI doesn’t have critical thinking skills or true, human creativity, and it too frequently hallucinates, which is extremely dangerous (I just read an article the other day about Deloitte getting fined for publishing an AI-generated article that contained a ton of misinformation). It’s like handing over our more important tasks to a toddler with the power of the Internet at their fingertips. They don’t know right from wrong. All they can do is regurgitate information (or make it up to please their caretakers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a minor footnote, the agency I’m with is also starting to think more about how LLMs are becoming a more primary audience for the articles we create (think AI SEO\/GEO), so on the flip side of things, we’re starting to write for AI rather than just use it to help us write\/edit. It’s a very interesting turn of events, in my opinion. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Abdulmumeen Odewole<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Abdulmumeen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“AI is like a junior writing assistant at your beck and call, useful for drafting outlines, reorganising drafts, expanding ideas, and surfacing data that would otherwise take hundreds of hours to uncover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That leverage comes with responsibility. I pour in lots of hours into the editing and fact-checking process, making sure every stat is manually verified to prevent errors and inconsistencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What AI is trusted with is speed. Marketers use it to surface sources faster, summarise dense datasets, analyse SERP gaps, and organise messy inputs that would otherwise take hours of manual labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It depicts AI as a high-powered research assistant that pulls books off the shelf, while humans remain the librarians deciding which ones are credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this boundary exists for good reason. Multiple studies, including OpenAI<\/a> and Stanford research<\/a>, have shown that large language models can hallucinate facts at rates exceeding 15\u201320%<\/strong> in complex queries. In 2023, even Deloitte was fined<\/a> after publishing AI-assisted content containing verified inaccuracies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #3: First drafts are always disposable<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every marketer we spoke to treats AI-generated first drafts the same way architects treat scaffolding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Asif Ali<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Asif<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

“I think the majority of writers use AI tools to CREATE\/WRITE content. But admitting it publicly is such a frowned-upon thing. Which is weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s absolutely no reason not to use AI to create the first draft (unless the client has explicitly asked not to).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which also means spending a fuck load of time before, to create resource libraries to fine-tune the output \u2014 to explain exactly what kind of output you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great content is not well-written. It\u2019s well-edited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we take that first draft and edit and refine aggressively to make it better and publish-ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the process, in back-and-forth with AI in creating the first draft, you\u2019d also discover so many nuances \u2014 especially if you feed it customer persona docs \u2014 which can make the content so good!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, AI tools are now a part of every step of my editorial process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially with agents now, initial research has become much more focused, concentrated, and time-effective. I\u2019d give a very detailed prompt mentioning the topic, the kind of specific info I am looking for, what I want to avoid, how and where to find relevant info, how to screen info, and other directional inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in like 30 mins, I have a very detailed report ready that contains everything I need to know before I get to writing that article. I spend some time going through it, back and forth, and in about 2\u20133 hours I am ready. While earlier, I\u2019d take up to a day or two to browse around, curate relevant details, and do overall research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do multiple layers of editing myself, manually. And by the end, when I am happy, as a last line of effort, I\u2019d run it through AI (with other guidelines and requirements and clients\u2019 old comments fed) \u2014 so it can make small needed refinements. For instance, making the sentences ideal for 5th graders or tweaking expressions to hit pain points more directly, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, even with AI use, the time I spend on creating a piece of content hasn\u2019t considerably declined. I just spend more time focusing on the smaller details to ensure the content isn\u2019t just good to read but also proactively effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if I spent 20 hours to create an article pre-AI that was an \u201cA\u201d \u2014 I\u2019m spending the same hours with AI, but ensuring the final piece is \u201cA+.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

AI drafts are fast. Cheap. Abundant. And emotionally hollow. They arrive confident, over-explained, and oddly allergic to saying anything risky. Which is honestly fine because no one (that values their brand) publishes them as-is. Instead, marketers tear them apart. They delete paragraphs. Rewrite conclusions. Sharpen claims and inject humane judgments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, despite the AI\u2019s promise of super speed (or ultra speed, depending on their marketing team), several writers and editors said their total production time hasn\u2019t dropped (at least, not significantly). It\u2019s just shifted. They now spend less time researching and more time editing\/refining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #4: No one trusts AI with brand voice <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We also found out that SaaS marketers were comfortable letting AI clean up sentences, but absolutely unwilling to let it decide how they sound. This is in tandem with the research results of MarketingWeek<\/a> that revealed why 61% of marketers are not confident in AI\u2019s ability to drive revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Lauren Funaro<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Lauren<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“I think of AI as the ultimate collaboration tool. We have a small in-house team, so I find that AI best serves us to help scale our content (repurposing for distribution, helping us get a first draft in). And very often, I’ll use AI as a sounding board as I conduct analysis, or need to dig through an idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key word here is “collaboration.” I’ve seen marketers jump head-first into full automation, and the truth is, if you have AI producing AI by reading other AI content, you will get the same regurgitated points that won’t perform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think of the LLMs as seeking nutrients \u2014 those nutrients are new information. You can’t feed it what it has already fed you. But if you work with AI to expand what you’ve already done the hard work on, or to give you a starting point, it’s an excellent partner.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Translation: congrats, you\u2019ve somehow invented beige!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand voice is muscle memory built from years of customer conversations, internal debates, product tradeoffs, and a thousand \u201cthat doesn\u2019t sound like us\u201d Slack comments. AI doesn\u2019t have that history. It doesn\u2019t feel the difference between confident and arrogant, friendly and fluffy, smart and smug. It can only do its best job at mimicking these tones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several editors even described using AI the way you\u2019d use Grammarly on steroids, i.e., to polish what\u2019s already there, simplify the language, or tighten the content rhythm. But, never, ever, as the originating voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Sigrid (Siri) Kenmuir<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Sigrid<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cI\u2019m a content strategist. I use Perplexity for research to cut down on research time and surface sources I would otherwise struggle to find, such as peer-reviewed articles. I use ChatGPT (a specific one for marketing and copywriting) to help me with headlines and short-form copy, as my speciality has always been longer-form writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use NotebookLM when I need to interrogate a large number of dense sources for content pieces, as it limits itself to ONLY the sources provided and doesn\u2019t hallucinate, since it\u2019s a RAG, not an LLM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been a writer for nearly 20 years, and freelancing for nearly 10. AI has affected my livelihood in that many of my former clients have turned to AI to create the content they used to pay me for. That said, I believe AI tools have value, and the pendulum will swing back. I prefer to write my own content and augment the quality using AI rather than outsourcing to AI, as many businesses do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And data backs Sigrid’s instinct, because a 2023 Lucidpress (now Marq) report<\/a> found that a consistent brand voice can increase revenue by up to 33%. It\u2019s such a huge figure that no SaaS leader should be gambling with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #5: AI is a sparring partner, not a validator<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the savvy SaaS marketer, AI is a challenger in the ring, not an obedient intern who nods at every idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Derya Yildirim<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Derya<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“I use AI as a sparring partner\u2014a devil’s advocate, if you will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rely on it to challenge my ideas, surface blind spots, tell me where my ideas fall flat, and question my assumptions about the ICPs I’m writing for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is super important for me, as I specialize in bottom-of-funnel and buyer enablement content, where a misdirected assumption or misplaced statement can weaken an asset\u2019s influence during the buyer\u2019s decision-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this, I’ve fine-tuned my ChatGPT settings with custom instructions so my conversations don’t devolve into a barrage of compliments, but instead stay critical, analytical, and feedback-driven to help me produce content that\u2019s precise and resonant.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Several marketers deliberately configure AI to disagree with them. AI can be used as a sparring partner and even a beta tester to pressure-test ideas before exposing them to a real audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key takeaway here is to keep AI in the ring, but make sure you\u2019re the one throwing the punches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #6: AI is an assistant, not a replacement<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While AI can remove friction from repetitive work, experienced marketers draw a hard line between automation and expertise. They\u2019re happy to offload busywork, but never the thinking that makes their work valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Ioana Wilkinson<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Ioana<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cMy favorite way to use AI is for repetitive tasks that don’t require my expertise. For example, adding an FAQ section to a blog post based on \u2018People Also Ask\u2019 for a target keyword. Or to define a term. I also like using it to create and organize bulleted lists. My VA also uses it to pull research for upcoming drafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the key is to scrutinize all information (since AI can hallucinate) and edit all outputs. And NEVER allow AI to replace your unique experience or expertise! It’s an assistant. Not a writer replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In other words, AI earns its place where human time is wasted \u2014 not where human judgment is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Finding #7: AI is a collaborator for clarity, not a shortcut for thinking<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several marketers described using AI less like a writer and more like an always-on editor \u2014 one that helps untangle messy thoughts, smooth awkward phrasing, and prevent repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Sufia Banu<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Safia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI primarily use AI for idea generation and feedback. For example, when I’m writing about a topic like \u2018email marketing laws\u2019 and need to mention a specific tool (say Brevo), AI helps me figure out how to integrate it naturally into the narrative without it feeling forced or out of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also turn to AI occasionally when a sentence or paragraph just doesn’t sit right with me. It acts like my personal editor, catching awkward phrasing and suggesting ways to tighten or clarify my writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, when I’m tackling challenging topics that require covering complex ideas, I sometimes end up repeating the same information in different places throughout an article. AI helps me identify and fix those.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The AI isn\u2019t generating the thinking here. It\u2019s reducing friction between what the marketer already knows and how clearly that knowledge reaches the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: How Product-Led Content is Redefining SaaS Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>The AI editorial boundary model<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve distilled all the survey responses and shared insights into one clear framework to highlight the patterns that really matter. The table below maps where AI earns its place in the content workflow and where human judgment and taste remain non-negotiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content Stage<\/th>AI Role<\/th>Human Role<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Ideation & strategy<\/strong><\/td>None<\/td>POV, positioning, user insight<\/td><\/tr>
Research & SERP gap<\/strong><\/td>Accelerate<\/td>Validate, select, interpret<\/td><\/tr>
Drafting<\/strong><\/td>Scaffold, conceptualise<\/td>Write, refine, contextualise<\/td><\/tr>
Editing<\/strong><\/td>Polish, grammar<\/td>Quality judgment, audience tuning<\/td><\/tr>
Clarity & coherence<\/strong><\/td>Suggest, flag issues<\/td>Logical flow, emphasis, meaning<\/td><\/tr>
Execution & output<\/strong><\/td>Automate repetitive tasks<\/td>Expertise, experience, originality<\/td><\/tr>
Final messaging<\/strong><\/td>None<\/td>Voice, claims, ethical & strategic judgment<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Closing thoughts: Own your AI, don\u2019t let it own you<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI is not a writer. Neither is it a researcher nor a strategist. It\u2019s a mirror, a sparring partner, a junior assistant with an endless coffee supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across our survey, top B2B & SaaS marketers, one clear pattern is that the more senior you get, the further AI is pushed from ideation. First thoughts, strategic framing, positioning, and audience insight are (and will always remain) human territory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t owe AI a seat in your process. But if you\u2019re going to use it, set boundaries. Keep your first thoughts human. Edit like your reputation is attached to every sentence. And let AI do what it\u2019s actually good at (i.e., speeding things up, stress-testing ideas, clearing the clutter) without ever letting it speak for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Methodology <\/strong>

This article is based on a mini-survey conducted by Masroor Ahmad, founder of h1copy. Masroor gathered responses from his personal network of B2B SaaS marketers, founders, and content leaders to understand how AI is actually being used \u2014 and not used \u2014 in real-world marketing workflows.

There was no rigid questionnaire or sampling framework. The goal was to capture honest, unfiltered perspectives from practitioners who actively work with AI in their day-to-day roles, rather than polished, theoretical opinions. Participants were asked to share what they avoid using AI for, and how they use it instead.

The responses were collected in no particular order and reflect a wide range of company sizes, roles, and stages \u2014 from early-stage SaaS teams to more established organizations.

Once the insights were gathered, Odewole Abdulmumeen curated, organized, and structured the material into the final article format. Masroor Ahmad served as the editor and publisher, reviewing the content for accuracy, clarity, and alignment with h1copy\u2019s standards before publication.

The result is a grounded, practitioner-driven snapshot of how B2B teams are navigating AI today \u2014 beyond the hype and into what actually works.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Frequently asked questions (FAQs)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n