From Grunt Work to Great Work: Using AI Agents as Strategic Advisors

Like most people, I started using AI for grunt work.

Draft an email. Write a blog outline. Generate a few social posts. I’d throw in a prompt, tweak the output, and walk away feeling... underwhelmed. The results weren’t bad, but they were never quite there. Generic. Predictable. Lifeless.

And in the time it took me to fix the copy, I might as well have written it myself.

That’s when I started thinking differently about how AI could actually support me—not as a writer, but as a reviewer.

The shift from creator to collaborator

Whenever I write long-form content, I always want a second set of eyes. Not just for typos, but for clarity, structure, SEO alignment, and—most importantly—relevance to the reader.

So I asked myself a simple question: 

If I were hiring someone to review my work, what would their job look like?

I wrote an actual job description for an internal content reviewer—someone who knew our brand voice, our audience, and our SEO approach. Then I used that job description to train a custom GPT agent.

I fed it everything I’d give a new team member: our onboarding docs, brand guidelines, writing style guide, product and service overviews, and ICP documentation.

That was my first real AI agent. And that’s when the shift happened. I stopped trying to use AI to create content and started using it to improve it.

The agent became my content advisor and editor—fast, consistent, and trained to think like us. It helped me spot what I’d missed, push ideas further, and tighten copy with our audience in mind.

Then I built a CMO

Once I saw the value of using AI to augment—not replace—thinking, I built out a second agent: a Chief Marketing Officer.

Same playbook:

• Write a job description
• Train the agent on our business (services, ICP, mission, tone)
• Feed it the same resources I’d give a new marketing hire
• Bonus: I gave it a marketing book to read

Now I had a strategist I could talk to.

• I’d bring it half-formed campaign ideas and get thoughtful feedback in seconds.
• I’d test assumptions and receive relevant pushback.
• It became an idea partner that helped me think through decisions—not just execute tasks.

The real power: better thinking, not faster doing

Here’s what surprised me most:

The value wasn’t in the speed. It was in the perspective.

My CMO agent started challenging me—in the best way.
It asked sharper questions than I was asking myself. It surfaced blind spots. It reframed ideas through the lens of our ICP.

It didn’t just give me answers. It gave me better questions to ask.

And that made me better.

The bigger picture for marketing leaders

If you’re a marketing director or founder trying to do more with less—or scale thinking across a lean team—AI agents aren’t here to replace your creativity.

But they can help you:

• Pressure-test campaign ideas before they go live
• Make faster, more confident decisions
• Get high-quality feedback without waiting for the next meeting
• Free up your mental energy for deeper, more strategic work

Start with the roles you wish you had in the room.
Write the job description.
Train your AI agent like a new hire.

And you might be surprised at what you get back.

Final Thoughts

We’re just scratching the surface of what AI can do—not as a shortcut, but as a thinking partner.

When you train AI to think like a strategist, not a task rabbit, it elevates your work in unexpected ways. For me, it’s less about doing more, and more about doing better.

That’s the difference between grunt work and great work.
And it's where AI actually starts to get interesting.