Why AI can't replace great pension communication yet...

Sure AI can write. But can it persuade? Make you care? Change your mind when it comes to money? We don't think so.

ChatGPT, OpenAI and Gemini aren't quite the in-house AI services 1990 movies led us to believe would be on our daily frontline. But here we are. Artificially intelligent emails, content, strategies, ideas and proposals.

Speedy? Certainly.

Impressive? Sure.

Preprogrammed? Naturally.

Unoriginal? Of course.

When it comes to changing behaviour, a uniquely human ability, AI still has a lot to learn. Especially in something as emotionally complex as pensions...

Fluent, but not feeling.

Slick sentences. Lightning-fast turnarounds. Your brain dump made brilliant. But connected, caring and compassionate? Hmm.

A programmed service can only pull in what it's already programmed to produce. It can't empathise with the anxiety of not saving enough, the guilt of ignoring personal finances, or the stomach-dropping realisation your investments aren't doing enough for your big dreams.

That's where an authentic human insight and creative approach really shines - not just cutting to the facts and numbers, but finding the emotional hook that moves someone to act. And in some ways, AI is lazy, painting emotional layers with a broad brush instead of finding the detailed nooks and crannies readers find interesting and memorable.

When only 25% of UK adults say pension comms feel ‘personally relevant’ to them (Nest Insight, 2024), it's a sign we need to leverage more emotion, connection and feeling.

Context still counts

AI does a lot. Feed it volumes of data and information to solve seamlessly, draft emails, summarise brain dumps and turn masses of info into snackable takeaways. But it doesn't know your specific member base, can't create 'original' beyond its programming, or adjust for one group's financial reality.

However, when deeper comms are needed - filled with nuance, emotional shifts, accessibility, critical thinking, and a balance of conflicting needs - AI's still playing catch-up. Unlike a human, it doesn't know what matters to people - it just predicts what sounds like it might.

And great comms need more than pattern recognition. They need a bespoke approach that encompasses context, craft, and expertise with people who know how to master both.

Creativity = the edge

Thousands of headlines and volumes of content generated at the snap of your fingers, but only a human knows which will truly land. Smart, emotive creative reframes, surprises, charms or reassures. It turns the forgettable into something worth feeling.

Just look at Cadbury’s Gorilla ad. No product. No script. Just a CGI gorilla acing a Phil Collins drum solo. It followed a salmonella scare and sounded absurd on paper, even the marketing director admitted he didn’t quite understand it. But he trusted the instinct and feeling behind it. The result? A 10% spike in sales and one of the most memorable ads of the 2000s.

That’s the power of human-led creative: knowing what will cut through even when it sounds bizarrely brilliant. AI can replicate what’s been done. But only creative people create the unexpected.

And when over half of readers skim or skip content that doesn’t feel personalised, relevant or engaging (Campaign Monitor 2024), it's time we get back to creating with the weird and the wonderful in mind.

The takeaway?

We're not anti-AI. In fact, we use it.

But only as a tool to get where we want faster, not as a replacement.

That’s because we believe pension communications deserve more than just technically correct copy. They deserve emotional intelligence, behavioural know-how, and a creative spark.

That's where our like mindedness comes in. We make member communication smarter, sharper and far more human. Because at the end of the day, people don't act on what's written well. They act on what feels right.

Got thoughts or ideas on this? We'd love to hear them.