AI marketing does not fail because the technology is broken.It fails when humans disappear from the process.In this deeply grounded and forward-looking episode of Counsel Cast, host Karin Conroy sits down with Mike Montague, founder of Avenue Nine, to explore what it really means to build human-first AI marketing systems that protect trust instead of eroding it.Mike brings a rare perspective. He speaks fluent “nerd,” has spent 15+ years coaching enterprise sales teams, has executed campaigns for Fortune-level brands, and has performed on stages in front of tens of thousands of people. That combination gives him a unique lens on AI, marketing psychology, and why most current AI advice is dangerously shallow.Together, Karin and Mike dismantle the idea that AI is a shortcut or replacement for strategy. Instead, they frame AI as an amplifier. It magnifies whatever system already exists, whether that system is thoughtful and human, or generic and broken.This conversation goes far beyond prompts and tools. It explores trust, ethics, creativity, emotional labor, and why the most powerful use of AI actually makes marketing more personal, not less.📌 You’ll learn:Why “human-first AI” is not common sense in modern marketingThe subtle red flags that instantly signal AI-generated content and quietly destroy trustWhy AI always defaults to predictable, lowest-common-denominator answersHow to build a contextual AI system that actually sounds like youWhy remixing your content beats generating new content from scratchThe real danger of letting AI start the thinking instead of supporting itHow AI can personalize campaigns at a level humans never had time to do beforeWhy mass marketing is fading and individual-based marketing is risingWhere AI belongs, where it doesn’t, and why emotional work still belongs to humansHow to pressure-test your ideas by letting AI critique them before the market doesWhy “I’ll know it when I see it” is not a strategy (and how AI exposes that gap)💡 Featuring:Karin and Mike also unpack why AI slop is everywhere right now, how marketers accidentally sabotage trust through formatting mistakes and tone mismatches, and why letting AI “drive the bus” is the fastest way to dilute your brand.Karin and Mike give listeners actionable tips on:0:00 Introduction2:00 Why AI advice today feels shallow and incomplete5:00 The chainsaw problem, power without precision8:00 How trust gets broken through obvious AI signals10:00 Why AI defaults to predictable answers13:00 Building a context-driven AI system15:00 Human-first vs Terminator-style automation18:00 Personalization at scale without losing humanity21:00 Where AI belongs, and where it absolutely doesn’t25:00 Emotional work vs intellectual work29:00 Remixing content instead of creating more noise33:00 Why mass marketing is quietly dying37:00 AI as amplifier, not replacement41:00 Creative freedom, bandwidth, and better thinking45:00 Book recommendation and responsibility in the AI era48:00 Practical first steps for using AI the right wayResources mentioned in this episode:What to Do When it's Your Turn by Seth GodinConnect with Mike:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobiegroup/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedmontague/https://avenue9.com/Connect with meInstagramPinterestFacebookTwitterKarin on TwitterKarin on LinkedInConroy Creative Counsel on Facebookhttps://conroycreativecounsel.com