Are you feeling pressure to “keep up with AI”? You’re not alone and you’re not crazy for being skeptical.

In this episode of Human-First AI Marketing, Mike Montague sits down with former Google strategist and author of Infailable, Chris Hood, to talk about what AI can actually do for small businesses and what it can’t. Spoiler: it’s not as “autonomous” as everyone’s saying. We break down real ways you can use AI to grow your business, boost your content, and support your customers, without wasting time or money on tools that don’t serve your goals.

This is the AI reality check every small business owner needs.

If you’re a CRO right now, you’re probably drowning in pitches that promise “autonomous agents,” “AI transformation,” and a one-click path to revenue gold. But here’s the truth most vendors won’t say: AI is not intelligent in the way your business needs it to be. It’s not autonomous. It’s not strategic. And it’s definitely not going to build real relationships with your customers.

Let’s break down the biggest takeaways from the conversation and why they matter to you as a revenue leader.

1. AI Isn’t Autonomous; It’s Automated

Chris blew the lid off one of the biggest lies in AI marketing: the word “autonomous.”

There is no such thing as autonomous AI. Not in marketing. Not in self-driving cars. Not even in the chatbots that sound human. Autonomy means acting independently, without human input. But if your chatbot needs training, your ad engine needs prompts, and your tools need constant monitoring… you’re not buying autonomy; you’re buying automation dressed up with a buzzword.

Human-First Takeaway:

Don’t let fancy language drive big purchases. Know what you’re actually buying and what problem it solves for your customer.

2. Don’t Fall for the Marketing Mirage

There’s a dangerous feedback loop in tech adoption: marketing teams read sci-fi headlines, vendors echo those headlines, and buyers make decisions based on fiction instead of fact.

We talked about how our cultural understanding of AI comes from movies like Terminator and The Matrix. That mythology bleeds into our business decisions, leading to wasted resources and missed expectations. You think you’re buying Iron Man’s suit, but you’re really just wiring together a smarter Excel sheet.

Human-First Takeaway:

If your AI strategy sounds like a plot twist, it probably is. Bring it back to what your team and your customers need now.

3. Tech-First Thinking Is Costing You Customers

Here’s the simplest test: are you adding AI because it serves your customer or because you’re afraid of falling behind?

Chris laid it out clearly: customer-first, tech-last. Start by understanding the customer’s journey. Then look for tools to enhance that journey, not replace the human connection at the heart of it. Digital acceleration is smarter than transformation because it’s iterative. You don’t blow up your business model; you evolve it.

Human-First Takeaway:

Ask yourself, “Do my customers want this technology or am I the one who’s excited?” That’s the difference between hype and help.

4. AI Can’t Think, But It Can Amplify

Let’s give AI some credit. It’s brilliant at pattern recognition. It’s fast. It doesn’t sleep. But it doesn’t understand nuance. It can’t feel your customer’s frustration. And it doesn’t care about your brand story.

That’s where you come in. When you use AI to amplify your thinking rather than replace it, you hit the sweet spot. You free up your team to do more human work. You create smarter content faster. You enable better conversations.

But it’s still your story, your insight, your strategy. AI’s just the megaphone.

Human-First Takeaway:

Use AI to extend your team’s reach, not erase their role. The future belongs to the most human brands, not the most “tech-enabled” ones.

Want the Full Conversation?

You’ll hear all of this and more when you tune in to the full episode with Chris Hood:
“AI Can’t Think, So Stop Marketing Like It Can”
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Chris breaks down the five types of AI you’ve never heard of, why sentiment analysis isn’t empathy, and how CROs can stop chasing the future and start building better growth models today.

Final Word: Smart CROs Don’t Just Buy AI, They Lead With It

This episode was a reminder that AI is a tool, not a strategy. The best CROs aren’t trying to automate their way to the top. They’re looking for better conversations, more relevant insights, and smarter paths to customer value.

If that sounds like your kind of leadership, Avenue9 is here to help you build it.

Let’s put the human back in your go-to-market motion. Work with Avenue9 →