Human-First AI Marketing Podcast by Avenue9

Dustin Jensen, AI strategist and founder of AIASystem.com, dives into how small and mid-sized businesses can truly leverage AI. He distinguishes between traditional automation and modern AI agents that complete tasks autonomously. Dustin emphasizes the importance of context engineering, likening it to onboarding a new employee. He also outlines the ADAPT methodology for AI transformation and discusses the potential societal impact of AI, suggesting we need to rethink human roles as technology evolves.

Experts discuss the future of sales and marketing, highlighting how creativity will become a key differentiator as AI tools become ubiquitous. Concerns about AI burnout among CEOs are raised, alongside the potential for personal AI agents to revolutionize task management. The conversation touches on the necessity of trust through Web3, the shift towards customer retention over acquisition, and personalized experiences that build loyalty. Insights into job changes, real-time personalized ads, and the evolving role of marketers paint a picture of an AI-driven future that still values human connection.

In this engaging conversation, Manuj Aggarwal, an AI and blockchain expert and founder of Tetra Noodle Technologies, dives into the revolutionary concept of AI digital twins. He discusses how these twins can mirror an individual's subconscious beliefs and decision-making processes, ultimately leading to accelerated growth and clarity in business. Manuj explains the importance of emotional intelligence in automation and outlines five essential pillars for creating an effective digital twin. His insights offer a glimpse into a future where AI enhances human potential and insights.

Send us a textWhat happens when AI stops being a gimmick and starts being your creative partner? In this episode, Mike Montague chats with Amer Tadayon, founder of LuciHub, about how AI video tools are opening new doors for small businesses, nonprofits, and solo marketers. From script writing and shot lists to voiceovers and final edits, AI is now a creative co-pilot, not a replacement for humans, but an amplifier of ideas. Amer shares how SMBs are creating authentic, high-performing video content using just a phone, a few smart tools, and a bold story to tell.If you’ve ever felt priced out of video production, overwhelmed by AI, or stuck repurposing the same old content, this conversation will shift your mindset. You’ll hear how lo-fi, real-talk videos are outperforming polished commercials, why authenticity builds trust faster than perfection, and how frontline teams can become your most powerful storytellers. Whether you're running a nonprofit or a scrappy B2B team, this episode will help you rethink what’s possible with AI and a human-first marketing mindset.Key Takeaways1. AI is democratizing storytellingTools like LuciHub allow anyone with a phone and a story to create high-quality video content, removing the traditional cost barriers of production.2. Creativity is no longer gated by capital.You don’t need a seven-figure budget to bring your ideas to life; AI levels the playing field for small businesses and solo creators.3. Lo-fi video is outperforming hi-fi in many cases.Authentic, phone-shot videos often drive better engagement than expensive, overly polished ads because they feel more real and trustworthy.4. Storytelling is shifting from marketing teams to frontline workersAmer shared how companies are empowering team members on the ground to share brand stories in their own words, bringing humanity and perspective.5. AI video tools are launching one-person agencies.Entrepreneurs are using Lucy Hub to start lean content businesses, proving that small teams (or individuals) can punch well above their weight with the right tools.6. Voiceovers and avatars have their place, but not everywhereAI voiceovers are fine for short-form, tactical content, but human voices and faces still lead when it comes to trust and emotional resonance.7. AI reduces risk and encourages experimentation.When content is faster and cheaper to produce, brands are more willing to test bold ideas, because a failed video doesn’t blow the whole budget.8. The future of video is agile, authentic, and powered by AIVideo today is like fast fashion, turnaround matters, but emotional connection still wins; AI helps you do both better.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textIn this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing® podcast, we’re joined by Chris Panteli and Nick Biggs, founders of Linkifi, to talk about how digital PR is evolving in a world dominated by AI, LLMs, and search engines that think like humans. We unpack what white hat link building actually looks like in 2025, why traditional press releases are outdated, and how AI is rewarding brands that build credibility, not just content.You’ll learn why getting quoted in tier-one media matters more than ever, how digital PR helps you show up in AI-generated answers (not just Google rankings), and how small businesses can compete with bigger brands by earning trust at scale. Whether you're doing your own outreach or hiring help, this conversation delivers actionable ideas to help your business stay visible, human, and relevant in the age of automation.Key Takeaways1. Digital PR is the safest, most effective way to earn backlinks in 2025.Unlike outdated SEO tactics, earned media links from credible publications are algorithm-proof and favored by both Google and LLMs.2. AI-driven search (AEO) rewards mentions, not just backlinks.Large language models prioritize authoritative brand citations even without links when generating conversational answers.3. Credibility across multiple sources boosts AI visibility.Getting quoted consistently across tier-one media builds trust signals that LLMs and users both recognize.4. Traditional PR tactics (like press releases) are mostly obsolete.Sending a press release about your latest product update won’t move the needle unless it’s genuinely newsworthy.5. Small businesses can earn tier-one coverage.You don’t need a massive budget, just a valuable perspective, a timely hook, and smart outreach.6. The news cycle is your opportunity to build authority.Newsjacking (when done ethically) allows you to insert your brand into relevant conversations journalists are already covering.7. Podcast guesting is a powerful form of digital PR.Appearing on trusted shows creates high-quality backlinks, content, and distribution across multiple platforms.8. LLMs will evolve to favor trusted, verifiable sources.Just like Google cracked down on low-quality SEO, AI search is moving toward rewarding brands that show up in credible places.9. You can’t control the narrative, but you can influence it.PR starts by aligning your voice with journalists’ needs; over time, this builds a consistent brand story across the web.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textIn this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing® podcast, Mike Montague sits down with Owen Lawlor, VP of AI at CoachEm, to explore how AI can be used with humans, not against them. You’ll hear how CoachEm is helping sales leaders move beyond dashboards and activity metrics by using causal AI and machine learning to uncover why performance is lagging and what reps can do about it. Think Iron Man, not Terminator. This isn’t automation that replaces your people; it’s intelligence that makes them better.We dig into real-world applications for sales coaching, performance analysis, and learning interventions that actually change behavior. If you’re a sales manager, marketing director, or SMB exec trying to figure out how to make AI useful without feeling overwhelmed, this conversation will hit home. You’ll leave with practical takeaways about using AI to amplify your team's capabilities, scale coaching, and finally connect the dots between data and decisions.Key Takeaways1. AI should augment humans, not replace themOwen makes the case for using AI to make sellers superhuman, not obsolete, by giving them data-backed coaching, not just automation.2. Causal AI identifies why sales are off, not just what happenedCoachEm’s models go beyond surface-level metrics to uncover root causes behind missed quotas and underperformance.3. Sales enablement must be personalized to each rep.One-size-fits-all dashboards don’t work; causal AI tailors learning interventions based on each individual’s behavior and performance data.4. Managers are drowning in tools and need actionable insight, fastWith growing rep-to-manager ratios, frontline leaders don’t need more data; they need AI to tell them what matters most right now.5. Learning interventions can be automated, but never dehumanizedCoachEm uses AI to suggest coaching actions, but always keeps the human manager in the loop to approve or adjust the plan.6. Degenerative AI is a real risk; look backward before generating forwardInstead of only using AI to write sales content, CoachEm analyzes past emails, calls, and CRM behavior to determine what’s actually working.7. “Iron Man” is a better AI metaphor than “Terminator”Owen supports the Human-First idea that AI should be a suit around the human, giving reps enhanced abilities, not taking their job.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textIn this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing® podcast, Mike Montague sits down with veteran CMO David Poulos to diagnose one of the most common but costly mistakes in small business marketing today: relying on AI without a clear strategy. They unpack how AI often becomes a shortcut to mediocrity, amplifying generic content, skipping the hard questions, and ignoring the very thing that actually drives growth: knowing your customer and having a plan that respects them.From AI-generated outreach to broken funnels and retention blind spots, this episode is packed with real talk for marketers, founders, and business leaders. You’ll learn why automation doesn’t fix a lack of clarity, how strategy needs to lead technology, not follow it, and what marketing malpractice looks like in 2025. Plus, they explore how to stay relevant without sounding robotic, and why context is the most underutilized ingredient in AI marketing today.Key Takeaways1. AI without strategy is malpractice.Using AI tools without a defined audience, offer, and marketing plan only accelerates poor decisions and creates more noise.2. Tactics don’t scale if the foundation is broken.Many businesses rely on tactical tools (SEO, email, social) without a strategic plan, so they plateau, stall, or misfire at scale.3. Best practices are just “average practices” in disguise.What worked for someone else won’t necessarily work for you; strategy must be customized to your business, your team, and your buyers.4. Most AI tools optimize for mediocrity, not excellence.Without human guidance, AI trains itself on the mean, not the top 20% of high-performing content or campaigns.5. You can’t outsource understanding your customer.No AI tool will replace the human work of listening, testing, and developing real audience insight.6. Don’t automate what you haven’t validated.Automating unproven or broken processes can tank results faster. Make sure the process works before you scale it.7. Retention is greater than acquisition for long-term growth.Chasing new customers while neglecting your existing ones creates a “leaky funnel” that no amount of AI can fix.8. Cold outreach is getting smarter, but still needs human backup.AI can write better intros and personalize emails, but it’s still up to your team to have real conversations and build trust.9. Fail fast, but don’t skip the learning loop.AI lacks the built-in reflection humans have; it needs input, feedback, and correction from humans who understand what “success” looks like.10. Your strategy should evolve faster than the tools.With new AI tools popping up daily, your competitive edge is your ability to adapt your thinking, not just your tech stack.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textIn this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing Podcast, host Mike Montague sits down with  ⁨@thechadburmeister⁩   , host of the AI for Sales Podcast and veteran AI entrepreneur, to explore how small and mid-sized businesses can harness AI without losing the human touch. Chad shares practical, battle-tested strategies for building custom GPTs in under an hour, using AI to create personalized outreach that gets 82% open rates, and aligning sales and marketing data to improve every conversation. You’ll hear why the most successful teams blend AI automation with human judgment to scale trust, not just transactions.Together, Mike and Chad dive into the dos and don’ts of AI-powered selling, from training models on your best messaging to avoiding the trap of generic “AI slop.” You’ll learn where AI can take repetitive, time-consuming tasks off your plate, where human nuance is still essential, and how to get your team comfortable and confident using AI. Whether you’re a business owner looking to empower your sales reps or a marketing leader aiming for consistent, on-brand outreach, this conversation will give you a roadmap to automate the work while keeping the connection that wins deals.Key Takeaways1. Build Your First Custom GPT – Creating a GPT trained on your company’s best content, messaging, and data can take less than an hour and instantly boost personalization.2. Train AI on Proven Messaging – Feeding AI examples of your top-performing emails or scripts helps it replicate your winning style instead of generating generic output.3. Use AI for Context, Not Just Content – AI can analyze customer data, personas, and pain points to make your outreach more relevant and engaging.4. Keep a Human in the Loop – Even the best-trained AI needs human review to ensure accuracy, tone, and alignment with brand voice.5. Focus on Trust-Building Tasks – AI can handle the busywork, but sales reps should focus their time on activities that deepen relationships and close deals.6. Avoid “AI Slop” – One-shot prompts without context lead to bad scripts; iterative collaboration with AI produces far better results.7. Leverage AI for Quick Wins – Use it for immediate needs like crafting proposals, summarizing meetings, or customizing event follow-ups to speed up sales cycles.8. Match AI Use to Buyer Stages – Automation works well for top and mid-funnel engagement, but late-stage deals often need a human touch to close.9. Personalize at Scale – AI enables tailored messaging for each prospect without adding to your workload, increasing open and reply rates.10. Think Long-Term with AI Integration – Building AI into your processes today sets you up for compounding improvements in efficiency and quality over time.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textMost salespeople dread roleplay training. It’s awkward, unrealistic, and rarely reflects the real challenges they face with prospects. In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with Michael Ocean, founder of Sell Me This Pen AI, to talk about a better way. Instead of building AI to replace sales reps, Michael built an AI-powered coaching assistant that helps them practice, improve, and perform without the pressure of a group setting or the pain of bad peer roleplays.We dig into why enterprise and complex sales still demand a human-first approach, how AI can uncover blind spots and skill gaps, and what makes roleplay effective when it’s personalized and repeatable. You’ll hear how SMBs can use AI to scale coaching, not cold calls; why safe practice leads to real confidence; and the right balance between AI feedback and human management. If you lead a sales team or want to sharpen your skills without the cringe, this episode is your playbook.Top Takeaways1. AI should enhance, not replace, salespeople – Complex, high-trust sales conversations still require human judgment and relationship building.2. Roleplays work best in a safe, personalized environment – AI lets reps practice without embarrassment or the limitations of a generic group scenario.3. Practice improves performance, but most teams don’t get enough of it – AI makes it possible to scale individualized coaching without overwhelming managers.4. AI can deliver unbiased, consistent feedback – Machine-led reviews focus on objective performance markers, not subjective impressions or mood.5. Managers are still critical for context and motivation – Human leaders can interpret performance data, address personal factors, and inspire change.6. Peer-to-peer roleplay often fails to reflect real buyer behavior – AI can simulate diverse personas and scenarios that mirror actual customer conversations.7. Repetition builds confidence and skill mastery – With AI, reps can repeat scenarios as often as needed without wasting a colleague’s time.8. AI reveals blind spots salespeople may not recognize – Pattern recognition and behavior tracking help uncover habits or weaknesses a human coach might miss.9. Balance is key between automation and human connection – AI should handle repetitive training tasks so humans can focus on relationship-building and strategy.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!

Send us a textToo many SMBs think a new headline, a prettier design, or the latest AI tool will magically turn their website into a lead machine. In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with marketing veteran James Hipkin to explain why most underperforming websites don’t have a copy or design problem; they have a strategy problem. You’ll learn why “inside-out” marketing stalls growth, how to shift to an “outside-in” approach that meets buyers where they are, and why messaging built for boomers can repel younger audiences like Millennials and Gen Z.James also shares the 80/20 rule for finding your most valuable customers, how to build content for people who have never heard of you, and practical ways AI can help you tailor messaging for different buyer personas without sounding robotic. If your business is stuck on a plateau, still relying too heavily on referrals, or wondering how to adapt to the self-service research habits of modern buyers, this conversation is a blueprint for building marketing that resonates, connects, and converts.Key Takeaways1. Most website problems are strategic, not cosmetic – Poor performance usually comes from a lack of a clear marketing strategy, not bad copy or visuals.2. Adopt an “outside-in” marketing mindset – Build messaging and offers around your audience’s journey, not just your own story or features.3. Your boomer-era marketing may repel younger buyers – Millennials and Gen Z expect self-service research and digital-first engagement, not phone calls and hard sells.4. The 80/20 rule can unlock growth – Focus on the top 20% of customers who generate most of your revenue, and design campaigns to attract more like them.5. Strangers need different messaging than referrals – Don’t assume new prospects know your values, reputation, or track record—build content that educates and builds trust from scratch.6. AI works best when it’s trained on your voice and audience – Use AI to adapt content for different personas, not to mass-produce generic marketing.7. Chatbots should provide value, not push for a call – Modern buyers will engage with bots if they get answers, resources, and useful guidance without pressure.8. Meet customers where they are in their decision journey – Offer the right content at the right stage, from initial research to final decision, to keep prospects moving forward.The Human-First AI Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Avenue9. We use artificial intelligence to amplify your unique voice, empower your marketing team, and enable your scaling business to achieve big-brand success.Explore new avenues available with AI marketing at Avenue9.com.We’re not just another AI company trying to build robots to replace you. We will help make you the hero. We’re marketers, too, and we get how important creativity, empathy, and human insight are when connecting with your ideal clients. No matter where you’re starting from or how big your goals are, we turn modern marketing challenges into exciting opportunities. Let's get started with a discovery consultation!