How We’re Using Gen AI at Human Digital

At Human Digital, our ethos is clear: B2B digital marketing by humans, for humans. But that doesn’t mean we shy away from cutting-edge technology—far from it. Gen AI is woven into our workflow not as a replacement for human creativity, but as a tool that helps us work smarter, think deeper, and deliver better outcomes for our clients. In this post, we’re sharing how Gen AI is embedded into our agency operations and the lessons we’ve learned from using it every day.

Gen AI: Embedded in Our Workflow

Every member of the Human Digital team uses Gen AI in some form. It’s embedded across the three core phases of our campaigns:

1. Pre-campaign: AI helps us ideate, critique, and clarify campaign briefs. By feeding it context, data, personas, and historical results, we sharpen our problem definitions and generate stronger creative direction.
2. During campaign: We use AI to analyse data, check grammar, optimise campaign components, and automate repetitive tasks.
3. Post-campaign: It plays a key role in identifying insights from large datasets—structured and unstructured—so we can learn and improve faster.

From Google Workspace’s Gemini to premium ChatGPT tools, Gen AI is infused throughout our day-to-day operations.

Guardrails: Our Principles, Not Just Policies

We don’t have a specific AI policy—instead, we operate under a formal technology policy that applies to all platforms and tools, including AI. The focus is clear: protect data, maintain professional standards, and ensure quality.

Rather than maintain separate rulebooks for every new technology, we apply consistent principles across the board. This simplifies decision-making and ensures that everyone understands their responsibilities—whether they’re working with AI, design tools, or any other digital systems.

Trust but Verify: Human Oversight is Essential

One thing we don’t do? Let AI make the final call. Every piece of client-facing work is reviewed by a second set of human eyes. We believe that good AI outputs are born from thoughtful human input—and every idea, insight, or execution is challenged and refined by real people before it ever sees the light of day.

We encourage our team to innovate continuously, but also to question and refine everything. Gen AI isn't a silver bullet—it’s a scalpel. Useful in skilled hands, but only when you know what you’re trying to achieve.

Lessons Learned: Don’t Start with AI

One of the most important insights we’ve gained is this: starting with AI often leads to generic results. In B2B marketing, that’s the last thing you want. We’ve found that the best work begins with human thought—deep, strategic, emotionally aware—and then uses AI to refine, enhance, or accelerate that thinking.

This is why we’ve consciously avoided using Gen AI for image creation or core copywriting. We prioritise authenticity and creative distinctiveness. As Ben van Rooy, founder of Human Digital, puts it: “If you start with AI-generated content, you're just going to be in that ocean of sameness. That’s not what a winning campaign is about.”

Final Thoughts: By Humans, For Humans

We see Gen AI the same way we once saw Adobe Creative Suite: a powerful tool that changes how we work, not why we work. Our job remains the same—to create meaningful, effective, and human-centred marketing. And with Gen AI in our toolkit, we’re doing just that, more effectively than ever.

The philosophy at Human Digital is simple: technology should serve human creativity—not replace it. That belief is what keeps our work bold, original, and real.