95% of marketers use AI. 39% see something come of it. The difference is who presses “publish”.
Marketing in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) is usually one person, or nobody, with a list that never gets finished: newsletter, LinkedIn, website, trade fair, ads. AI can’t come up with the story for you, but it can bring the rhythm that isn’t there now: first drafts, variants, planning and measuring. As long as a person guards the tone and presses publish.
// A report from a fictional consultancy with twelve employees, an office manager who “also does marketing” and a managing director who posts on LinkedIn himself when he has time. The company is fictional, the situations are real: we run into them again and again.
Sound familiar?
- The newsletter has been “almost done” for two months. The last one went out in March.
- The latest news item on the website is from 2023.
- Everyone posts on LinkedIn themselves; tone and house style differ from person to person.
- The ad budget keeps running, but nobody looks at the weekly figures.
- Trade fair preparation (banner, flyer, lead form) happens in the final week.
- The content calendar in Excel is out of date after three weeks.
- Photos, logos and copy are scattered across mailboxes and laptops.
- Reviews come in and nobody responds.
What usually runs here
The software we come across here most often. It does not have to go; we build around it and in between.
A day in marketing & content: now and next
On the left, the day as it usually runs now. On the right, the same day once the dull parts are automated and AI does the groundwork. Watch what changes: not the people, but where their time goes.
- 09:00Office managerOpens the content calendar. Three posts are “scheduled”, zero are written. The newsletter slips another week.
- 10:30Managing directorWants a LinkedIn post about the new project. Starts writing, gets a phone call, the text stays in draft.
- 12:00Office managerLooks for the right version of the logo. Finds four, in three mailboxes.
- 14:00AdsThis month’s budget is 80% spent. Which ad worked? Nobody knows.
- 15:30Office managerTrade fair in two weeks: flyer still to do, banner still to do, invitation still to do. All at once.
- 16:45WebsiteA customer reports that the opening hours on the site are wrong. Since the summer.
- 17:30Managing directorSees a two-star review from last week. Nobody has responded.
- 09:00Office managerThe content calendar is filled from a single source document: the new project, the trade fair, two customer questions. First drafts of three posts and the newsletter are ready; she edits, picks and schedules.
- 10:30Managing directorRecords a two-minute voice note about what struck him on the project. An hour later there’s a post in his own tone, with an on-brand image. He cuts one sentence and publishes.
- 12:00Office managerLogo, photos and copy live in one brand library. The AI automatically uses the right version.
- 14:00AdsWeekly report in the inbox: which ad delivered enquiries, which only clicks. Proposal: shift budget. She clicks approve.
- 15:30Office managerTrade fair: flyer, banner and invitation in house style have been generated as drafts; the lead form is connected to the CRM. Two weeks to spare.
- 16:45WebsiteOpening hours live in one source; site, Google profile and newsletter are kept in sync automatically.
- 17:30Managing directorThe two-star review got a draft reply the same day; the office manager adjusted it and posted it. The customer called back.
Where AI makes the difference here
Per use case: what the automation does, what a person keeps doing, and whether it is proven or still promising. We say which one honestly.
One source, all channels
From a single source document (project, news, customer question), AI creates first drafts for newsletter, LinkedIn, website and ad, in your house style and tone.
Still human: edits, picks and publishes. Edited text doesn’t need an AI label.
Rhythm instead of good intentions
A content calendar that fills itself and sends reminders, based on what’s happening in your business and your sector.
Still human: decides what does and doesn’t go out.
Ads that get adjusted along the way
Variants of headlines and copy for A/B tests, a weekly report on what generated enquiries, and a proposal for shifting budget.
Still human: approves the shift; we don’t build fully autonomous campaign management.
Reviews and replies
New reviews are flagged, suspicious or fake reviews are marked, and a draft reply is ready within an hour.
Still human: posts the reply; a genuine response is half the battle.
Findability with common sense
Keyword research, page structure and copy you edit yourself. No mass production: search engines penalise unedited AI copy, and AI summaries halve click-throughs.
Still human: decides what you really have to say.
AI video and autonomous campaigns
Technically possible, but the quality and the risk of brand damage are still too variable for an SME brand. We say this honestly: not just yet.
Still human: keeps an eye on when it does become viable.
Honestly: what AI does not do here
- AI doesn’t come up with a story. If your business has nothing to say, you get emptiness, only faster.
- Unedited AI copy in bulk is a risk: readers notice, and search engines have penalised “scaled content abuse” since 2024.
- Visible AI use costs trust with some of your customers. That’s why the tone stays yours and a person presses publish.
- Buying fake reviews is prohibited and fined; we help you get and answer real reviews, not fabricate them.
The objections we hear — and whether we can close them off
We looked them up and heard them from clients. For each objection we say whether it is really solvable, partly solvable, or a risk that stays and that you accept knowingly.
Can it be closed off: yes. That happens when you let AI publish without a style guide and without editing. We first build a brand library and tone rules; after that, AI drafts are drafts in your voice, and you edit. Less, better and on time.
- 01Week 1: core session: all channels, all sources, who does what. We count what really went out in a month.
- 02Weeks 1 and 2: brand library and tone rules; one source for company details (opening hours, address, copy).
- 03Weeks 2 and 3: content calendar with first drafts from source documents; newsletter back into a regular rhythm.
- 04Weeks 3 and 4: review monitoring with draft replies; weekly ad report.
- 05Week 4: measure per channel. Enquiries, click-throughs, responses. Only then expand.
First the free AI scan, then a core session on your floor (a half-day of 4 hours, €596 excl. VAT and travel costs) with a core report and an honest go/no-go. We build on a project basis with fixed hours: €110 per hour for straightforward work, €165 for complex development.
More hours only with your written approval. If we cannot deliver, you pay nothing for what was not delivered.
Want to know what this means for your marketing & content?
Take the free AI scan or book an intro call with someone who builds it themselves. A reply within one working day, no slides, no obligations.
Most businesses start with the tool and then get stuck. It is better to start with one piece of work that comes back every week and nobody enjoys.
The build costs are usually the easiest part of the bill. The surprises are in the clean-up beforehand, the monthly usage and the maintenance afterwards.
- Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content Marketing Trends 2026 (2026)
- Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears (2025)
- CBS (Statistics Netherlands), Businesses use AI most often for marketing or sales (2025)
- Google Search Central, March 2024 core update and spam policies (2024)
- Klaviyo, Consumer trust in AI (2025)
- ACM, Approach to the sale of fake reviews (2024)
- AI Recht, AI Act Article 50: transparency notices (2026)
- DDMA, GDMA International Email Benchmark 2026 (2026)