A question I get constantly from business owners is whether AI will eventually replace the services they provide. As someone who helps small businesses with digital marketing, I wonder the same thing about my own work. With tools like Claude Artifacts making it possible to build functional tools in minutes, I decided to put AI to the test.
Could I build digital marketing tools using AI that would produce the same results we deliver to our clients?
I spent several days experimenting, and the results were both impressive and revealing.
My Three AI Marketing Tool Experiments
Experiment #1: Service Area Page Content Generator
Small businesses need to rank in nearby towns and communities. A common strategy is creating service area pages for websites to help search engines recognize coverage areas. While Google Maps typically shows closer businesses, organic search results often include companies whose service areas cover the searcher’s location.
I asked Claude to create a tool that would generate complete page copy for business location/service pages. Within minutes, I had a functional web-based tool that could:
- Generate complete page content based on business details
- Provide image recommendations
- Create HTML code for website implementation
- Include copy/paste functionality for easy document transfer
Try the Service Area Page Tool
Experiment #2: Vehicle Oil Change Instruction Generator
To demonstrate how AI might impact other service industries, I created a tool that could potentially replace visits to quick-lube shops. This tool generates detailed, vehicle-specific oil change instructions that adjust based on the user’s mechanical experience level.
The tool provides:
- Customized step-by-step instructions based on mechanical skill level
- Specific oil amounts and filter part numbers for your exact vehicle
- Safety considerations and tool requirements
- Maintenance recommendations based on vehicle age and mileage
- Cost comparisons between DIY and professional service
What makes this particularly interesting is that it provides personalized guidance that’s difficult to find in generic YouTube videos or manuals. Most instructional content assumes either complete beginner or experienced mechanic—this tool adapts its complexity to match the user’s comfort level.
This demonstrates how AI tools could potentially impact service-based businesses across many industries—not just marketing.
Experiment #3: Email Welcome Sequence Builder
Email marketing is crucial for small businesses, but creating effective welcome sequences requires understanding customer psychology and business strategy. I built a tool to generate complete welcome email sequences that could be implemented directly into email marketing platforms.
This tool asks for specific business information and creates multi-email sequences designed to nurture new subscribers into customers.
What I Discovered: The Good and The Concerning
The Impressive Results
These tools are genuinely useful. They can produce content in seconds that would typically take hours to create. The service area page generator creates content that follows SEO best practices, and the email sequence tool understands fundamental marketing psychology.
For businesses operating on tight budgets, these tools could provide a starting point for content creation that would otherwise require hiring a professional or spending countless hours learning marketing principles.
The Critical Limitations
However, my experiment revealed significant shortcomings that every business owner should understand:
1. Fixed Output Without Learning These tools produce similar results every time with only slight variations. They don’t learn from your specific business results or adapt based on what works for your unique customer base. They’re sophisticated templates, not strategic partners.
2. Error-Prone Development The service area tool took 30 minutes of debugging to function properly. The email sequence generator required several hours of troubleshooting. Unless you have development experience, you’ll struggle to identify and fix issues when they arise.
3. Generic Strategy Application While AI excels at producing well-written copy, it can only assume what might work for your customers based on general principles. It cannot understand the unique complexities of your specific business, market position, or customer relationships.
A Better Approach: AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement
Instead of building complex tools, I’ve found it more effective to use AI conversationally. Ask Claude or ChatGPT to create marketing assets directly in chat, then refine them through discussion. This approach:
- Eliminates technical complications
- Allows for real-time refinement
- Avoids unnecessary complexity
- Produces better results faster
Will AI Replace Marketing Services?
Not yet—and here’s why this matters for every business owner.
In the early 2000s, I thought website building software would eliminate the need for web developers. Today, while it’s easier than ever to create a website, building one that actually drives business results—ranking well in Google, effectively communicating your value, and converting visitors to customers—still requires expertise and strategy.
Most DIY websites remain digital brochures at best because creating effective marketing requires understanding human psychology, market dynamics, and business strategy that extends far beyond content creation.
AI is exceptional at producing copy and generating ideas quickly, but it cannot:
- Understand your customers’ unique decision-making process
- Develop strategies based on your specific market position
- Adapt based on real performance data from your business
- Provide the strategic thinking that comes from years of experience
What This Means for Your Business
If you provide services that could potentially be automated, consider these questions:
- What unique insights do you bring that AI cannot replicate?
- How do you adapt your approach based on specific client needs?
- What strategic thinking separates your work from template-based solutions?
The businesses that will thrive alongside AI are those that focus on strategy, customization, and results that can only come from understanding the nuances of individual business situations.
The Bottom Line
AI tools are powerful and will continue improving, but they’re most effective when guided by human expertise and strategic thinking. Small businesses can certainly use AI to support their marketing efforts, but replacing the strategic guidance and customized approach that comes from experienced professionals isn’t happening anytime soon.
The real opportunity lies in combining AI’s efficiency with human insight to deliver better results faster—not in replacing one with the other.
What are your thoughts? Are you concerned that AI might replace aspects of your business, or do you see opportunities to use AI to enhance what you already do? I’d love to hear about your own AI experiments and discoveries.
