Automation Isn’t the Threat; Mediocrity Is
The real consequence of easy ad creation.
Snap’s new AI ad-creation tools aren’t the first of their kind. They definitely won’t be the last. But they mark an important shift:
ad creation is becoming instant.
This is good and bad.
Good because it lowers barriers.
Bad because it levels the field, and not in the way people expect.
When anyone can make an ad in seconds, creativity doesn’t become easier. It becomes more competitive.
Because AI didn’t remove the hard part. It removed the busywork.
The hard part is (and always has been):
taste
judgment
clarity
strategy
timing
originality
AI can’t do those. But it can expose, brutally, the marketers who don’t have them.
For years, the industry pretended that output = value. Volume = success. Pacing = performance.
Not anymore.
With automated ad creation becoming the baseline, the race to publish becomes irrelevant. What matters now is:
Can you think sharply enough to stand out in a world where everyone can produce?
AI won’t replace marketers. But it will replace mediocre marketing. Not because the tools are too strong, but because the work was too weak.
The marketers who survive this era aren’t the ones who can produce more. They’re the ones who can produce better.
This isn’t an AI revolution. It’s a taste revolution.
And that… is far overdue.