Human Storytellers Reach Emotions AI Can’t

Why the human touch still connects with audiences, and how AI can help

Who, or what, should write the stories we use in online content, executive speeches, brand marketing, and more? A recent job posting at OpenAI, among others, begs the question. The ad was for a “content strategist” with responsibilities including “create, write, and edit high-quality content” and “define and evolve ChatGPT’s voice and tone.” In other words? Be a writer. Even at the world’s leading artificial intelligence company, it seems, AI can scale content, but humans still tell the stories. 

Most CMOs would say this is the right call. Struggling to measure ROI as they experiment with AI for personalization, none let AI lead brand storytelling. Over half (52%) of CMOs say integrating media and creative remains a big challenge for the year ahead, and tech isn’t likely to solve it soon. The pros know brand stories are tough to tell in today’s fragmented digital world, and audiences won’t buy subpar narratives. 

But why is it so hard to get this right? And what should we do about it?

Start with the brain. Good storytelling, whether it’s one person talking to another on a bench or a keynote speaker addressing thousands, is not just a mental interaction; it’s a physiological event. Uri Hasson’s research on neural coupling found that stories create powerful brain synchrony between teller and listener. Just watch Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in this scene from the legendary Oscar-winning classic Out of Africa. Great stories elicit an actual neurological response in us, surges of dopamine and oxytocin that are powerful physiological cues: Pay attention! Remember what you just heard! 

Not only that, but when we hear a great story, our physiological reaction is pricelessly unpredictable. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s Theory of Constructed Emotion explains that our emotional responses are not automatic or inborn. They’re constructed by the brain in the moment, influenced by personal and social context. The opposite of an algorithm.

For millennia, stories have taught us how to avoid poisonous plants, poisonous people, and all kinds of evolving threats. Stories—good ones at least—still teach us what to care about, who to pay attention to, and whether to buy this coat or that car. The right words combined in the right way, infused with human complexity and a singular voice, can take us on a ride. And we let them. 

A good story creates a memorable feeling, which helps drive loyalty and sales. We buy Kleenex instead of generic because remember how we their ads tugged at our heartstrings. Advertising starring Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdales spikes their annual Super Bowl and winter holiday sales. See Pepsi’s iconic Gladiator commercial, Nike’s first pitch for Nike Air, and so many other legendary ads that make us feel something we don’t forget, long after they air. 

Great brands don’t reserve storytelling just for advertising, of course. They infuse it in all their company communications. Think of Howard Schultz’s “third place” at Starbucks, Sheryl Sandberg’s leaning in, and Oprah’s favorite things. Leaders like these are living proof that powerful stories can get you deeper engagement, stronger loyalty, and a corner office. 

Storytelling today isn’t just the job of CMOs, though. Anybody with a social media account should have these skills. With so many creators, formats, and distribution options, the demand for clever, meaningful content is at an all-time high. So is the pressure. In this climate, surely a quick, AI-generated story could be a good-enough alternative vs. one labored over by a human, right? 

It depends. AI may soon learn how to deliver stories that hit the mark for even the most exacting clients. But for now, studies have found that AI-generated stories are structurally sound but lack the depth to resonate with their audiences. They don’t have the emotive power that compels brand affection, delight, and word of mouth—so, more often than not, you’ll end up having to produce those results some other way. There’s always a cost to leaving the audience cold. 

What does this mean for CMOs? Treat AI as your strategy assistant, not your narrator. Many parts of the brain light up when we listen to a compelling narrative, including neural circuits well beyond those involved in language processing. But not when the story is rote. When we’re fed a story by an algorithm, the dopamine and oxytocin surges that are so valuable for both survival and sales may not happen at all. 

AI is a great tool for data analysis, personalization, and scale. It ably assists in distilling ideas and compiling them. But it’s still figuring out the sophistication of a top story. As our ability to communicate regresses (Gen Z reports that they struggle with workplace conversations) and our technology progresses (hello, quantum), we’re actually seeing the physical and mental power of human-generated content firmly holding ground. The market for human content strategists is doing the same. 

Particularly at the highest levels and certainly in the C-suite, there remains an obvious difference between output and insight, explaining and inspiring, and a story that’s forgettable and one that stays with you. It’s the latter that wins hearts, minds, customers.

So keep your AI on the marketing team for all the remarkable research, analytics, and data support it provides. But remember that your human writers have a superpower AI still can’t match: the ability to connect deeply with the hearts, minds, and emotions of your audience.