The Authenticity Paradox

First, let’s deal with the elephant in the room – generative AI and content marketing. As Ann explains, the proliferation of AI as a content creation tool is doing something fascinating to the marketing landscape. It’s created the ‘authenticity paradox’.

“The more capable AI becomes at generating content, the more valuable genuinely human expression becomes,” Ann says. “AI has made competent, serviceable content essentially free, and sometimes that’s really helpful. But that creates a new baseline, and what becomes scarce and precious is anything above that.”

So, not only does AI bring benefits of speeding up workflows and automating tasks, but it also poses another new opportunity to marketers – a chance to stand out by creating authentic, human content.

Ann elaborates: “Does your content have human fingerprints on it? The thing that your audience most needs and wants from you is proof that the human actually showed up in whatever it is you’re creating. That’s the job now.”

The sentiment is something Canto’s Lynn Herman agrees with. She explains that “good content isn’t just informative, it’s meaningful. We’re in this moment right now where AI can generate almost infinite content – but as brands are producing more content than ever before across more channels, it’s really about creating content that matters and that people connect with.”

The Courage for Content

You might think that the main barriers to creating great, impactful content are lack of time or the right tools. But according to Ann Handley there’s a less obvious problem which is killing content before it even reaches audiences: courage. To unpack what this actually means, Ann takes us back to basics, asking: “What is marketing actually for?”

“Of course we want to grow the business and contribute to the overall footprint, but it’s also about connecting with other people. That requires standing out and showing up in ways that not everybody else can – and that’s how I think about being courageous.”

Creating content with courage doesn’t mean being reckless or taking unnecessary reputational risks. It’s more about leaning into the content that matters to your customers, even in the B2B space. For example, can you make meaningful content by putting your organisation’s people front and centre (remember, the one thing AI can’t replicate is actual human voices sharing their thoughts and views)? Or can you land content that matters through being as specific as possible about your products and services (“vagueness moves nobody,” explains Ann)?

Ann sums up the point like this: “You can produce more and more and more, you can try to flood the zone, but honestly I don’t think that’s going to serve your goals the most. It’s really about telling better stories, being very specific, and showing your people.”

The Pros and Cons of AI

The reality is that the content landscape is a place of light and shade. There are just as many challenges as there are opportunities.

According to Ann, this isn’t just about AI. “When content marketing came on the scene, we got people producing blogs but we always got content farms and keyword stuffing,” she recalls. “On social media, we got cross-posting. When direct marketers moved from direct email to platforms, we got spray and pay. None of these are bad, but they all have a dark side when we’re under pressure and we over-rely on them.”

There are a wealth of interesting findings in Canto’s State of Digital Content 2026 report which illustrate the point. Our research found that 82% of content marketers are producing more content, with 75% crediting AI for making that possible. But their number one biggest challenge is keeping up with content demands.

Ann unpacks the findings more. “Maybe we should be putting more AI rocket-fuel on top of what we’re already doing… but I don’t think that’s actually the full story. What’s really going on underneath the numbers is that, in marketing, we always think technology is the solution.”

The pushback here is on seeing AI as the silver bullet for efficiency. Instead, marketers need to start being more selective in how they’re using AI. “Is this a moment when we should go faster, or when we need to slow down in service to something richer, for example, great content?” Ann asks.

Take platforms like Canto – designed to help marketers streamline their workflow and automate low-value tasks, freeing up teams to prioritise content and creative that works. “People are shifting towards using AI in tasks that can be automated, using it to take away admin like searching or tagging, while retaining creativity,” summarises Lynn Herman.

To learn how to scale smarter, connect deeper, and create content that actually moves people, watch Canto’s Content Innovation Summit 2026.