I recently read a newsletter that stopped me in my tracks. Chills, goosebumps, the whole thing. It unpacked the Good Will Hunting monologue where Robin Williams’ character, Sean Maguire, tells Will Hunting the hard truth:
“You’re just a kid… But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel.”
It’s a brutal, beautiful reminder that information is not experience. That wisdom and connection require something more than knowledge. They require vulnerability. Humanity.
And it hit me. The AI revolution is our Good Will Hunting moment.
As a brand leader, I’m not anti-AI. I use it. My team uses it. We use it to write faster, iterate smarter and explore more creative territory than ever before. But let’s be real. AI can only take us so far. It can quote Michelangelo, but it can’t tell us what the Sistine Chapel smells like.
That matters. Because the brands winning today aren’t just saying the right things. They’re building real connections.
One of my favorite recent examples of this is a coffee shop in New York that went viral. Not for its espresso, but for its people. The staff doesn’t make drinks. At all. Their only job is to talk to customers. Ask how they’re doing. Make a connection. That’s it.
The result? A better customer experience. A brand people can feel. In an industry obsessed with speed, this shop chose presence over productivity, and it worked.
That’s the difference. And as marketers, especially those of us steering brand strategy, we have to know the line between data and depth, convenience and connection. That’s where trust is built. That’s where loyalty lives.
AI can draft a press release or spin up a dozen campaign concepts. But it can’t know the anxiety your customer feels on the way to her first cancer screening. It can’t know what it means to walk into a clinic and be met with warmth, not a transaction. It can’t reflect lived experience.
Only humans can do that.
We can’t afford to trade that for speed.
So, to all the content creators, strategists and brand leaders reading this: the future is still yours.
Do you want to create work that just knows the facts? Or do you want to build something that feels like the Sistine Chapel — something human, unforgettable and real?
The tools are here. But only you can decide to show up.
Want to build more human, connected brand experiences?
Reach out to start the conversation!
