Do y’all remember when AI platforms first came around? Crazy times, am I right? Everyone and their mother was flocking towards platforms like ChatGPT to make mundane tasks easier!

I remember that I would always call out my roommate for using ChatGPT for things, and he’d always reply with “Be careful, bud. I can use ChatGPT to end your whole career. All I have to do is write out the prompt, ‘Learn how to market businesses,’ and it’s all over for you.”

It was a very concerning threat because I honestly was worried that AI was going to take my job. It might eventually happen, but not anytime soon. 

Over the last few years as AI has grown in popularity, there’s one thing I’ve learned: It can’t beat the human touch that makes ads actually work. 

The truth is, AI isn’t always the best answer when you’re marketing. When you rely on it too much, you can lose control, miss important context, and end up with campaigns that feel a little… generic. And in digital advertising, generic rarely performs well.

At the end of the day, the best results usually come from a mix of smart automation and real human strategy. AI is a powerful tool, but it still needs someone behind the wheel. 

So buckle up. In this blog, we’ll dig into where AI actually helps, where it can hold you back, and how to strike the right balance.

Where AI Actually Helps

AI definitely has its place in digital advertising. It’s not the enemy here. 

Where it really shines is in the stuff that takes time and repetition. Things like adjusting bids, pacing budgets, and reacting to performance changes in real time. Instead of someone manually checking campaigns all day, AI can make those small optimizations instantly.

AI tools can also be helpful when your creative juices aren’t really flowing. I’ll be honest here, my brain doesn’t like to function. There’s a lot of things going on in it. So it’s really hard to zone in on a topic — let’s say a blog about AI — so I give an AI platform like ChatGPT all of the word jazz that’s playing in my brain. AI takes that information and makes it into something people can understand. 

Am I saying that this entire blog was made completely from scratch? NO! 

Am I saying that AI completely did this? Absolutely not! 

I see my AI usage as more of a pacer in a long race. I still do most of the work/race, AI just helps me get to the finish line.

How 9 Clouds is Using AI in 2026

Where AI Can Hold You Back: Meta Edition

Here’s where things get tricky. AI can start to work against you if you rely on it too much.

One of the biggest downsides is control. As platforms push more automation, you lose visibility into what’s actually driving performance. You might see results go up or down, but you won’t always why. That makes it harder to make smart strategic decisions or pivots.

Also, the AI ‘automations’ for ads are very bad for the most part.

Let’s pull from one of the most popular platforms to advertise on, Meta. Sure, Meta is a great platform to advertise on. It’s a part of most of our packages for clients because billions of users are actively on Facebook and Instagram. That doesn’t mean Mark Zuckerberg and the gang created AI automations that work for our clients.

Meta’s ‘Add Music’ Automation

Let’s start with the automations that have been giving me headaches every time I build a campaign on Meta. The music automation is numero uno on my list. This is because Meta automatically applies this to every ad you make. You need to go into every ad and deselect this “optimization” even if you duplicated an ad with the music already turned off.

Most of you are probably thinking “Tyrel, why do you hate music so much?” I don’t hate music. I promise. (Except for the Beatles. I really don’t understand the hype behind that band.)

My issue is that Meta automatically selects the music with AI.

Fascinating right? WRONG!

I tried this feature and saw one of our ads on Facebook. It was playing clown music for the ad…You may be asking me “Was the ad for a clown service or maybe a circus promotion?”

Nope. It was for an automotive client (which we caught quickly, thanks to our weekly ad checks).

You can go in and manually select music, but it’s only up to five songs and the library is overwhelming. It’s also very hard to narrow down specific music for specific clients. So the Meta music automation is a hard no from me.

Meta’s ‘Image and Video Generation’ Automation

Let’s be real. We’ve all seen bad AI images on Meta, right?

Meta’s built-in image and video generation tools sound convenient, but they can actually hurt your performance more than help it.

The biggest issue is that everything starts to look the same. Since these tools are trained on patterns that already perform well, they tend to produce safe, generic creative. That might check the box, but it rarely stands out in a crowded feed.

There’s also a lack of brand authenticity. Your ads should feel like your tone, your style, your edge. AI-generated visuals often miss that, which can make your brand feel watered down or forgettable.

And just like with other AI tools, it does not fully understand context. It cannot capture local nuance, unique selling points, or what actually makes your offer different. So while the creative might look polished, it’s not always strategic.

At the end of the day, good and authentic creative is still a major driver of performance. If you hand that over entirely to automation, you risk blending in instead of standing out.

Best Design Practices for Your Facebook Ads

The List Goes On and On

I could keep about more bad automated “optimizations” on Meta, but I want to cut to the chase. 

Treat these automations with caution. Check what settings and optimizations you have turned on for any platform.

Digital ad platforms are not making these automations to make your life easier. They are making them to gain control of the ads that are yours. For example, Meta reps will tell you results improve immensely with these automations, but there really isn’t any proof other than them saying it. 

How to Find The Right Balance

If AI is helpful in some areas and risky in others, the goal is not to pick a side. It’s to use both the right way.

Start by letting AI handle the repetitive, data-heavy work. Things like bid adjustments, budget pacing, and audience optimization are where it thrives. That’s where you get efficiency without sacrificing all of your control.

Then keep the strategic pieces human. Your messaging, your creative direction, your offers, and your overall campaign structure should still come from real insight. That’s where differentiation happens, and usually where AI falls short.

It also helps to stay involved. Don’t just turn campaigns on and walk away thinking an automation’s got it. Check performance, question what the algorithm is doing, and make manual adjustments when something looks off.

At the end of the day, think of AI as an assistant, not a replacement. It can make you faster and more efficient, but it still needs direction. The brands that win are the ones that combine smart automation with strong, human-led strategy.

Let Us Worry About the Dumb AI Features

Don’t want to deal with the headache of ads and AI? Let 9 Clouds be the solution.

Our team is up to date on everything involving digital advertising. Plus, we offer FREE custom proposals that fit your wants and needs. Submit for your custom proposal and Tessa from our team will reach out to you with some questions!

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