We’re being told that AI has killed emotion in marketing. Just look at what LLMs lean on when they make brand recommendations: it’s overwhelmingly about facts, not feelings. Research by Digital Bloom shows that comparative listicles are by far the most frequently referenced content type for LLMs, with how-to guides and FAQs also appearing often. Omniscient reports that, for branded prompts, most LLM citations come from editorial publications, online forums, review platforms, and directories. In short, AI hunts for facts—scientific facts, practical facts, claimed facts, discussion-based facts, evaluative facts, and comparative facts. It prioritizes data on performance and price. Its recommendations are grounded in those facts rather than in emotional appeals.
Marketing has long wrestled with the tension between “head” and “heart,” or thinking versus feeling—essentially, facts versus emotions. Before AI’s rapid rise in November 2022, the pendulum had been swinging back toward the importance of emotion. Now, as AI surges, facts are regaining prominence. Marketers are racing to ensure their brands are thoroughly and accurately represented in online knowledge graphs and social conversations. As more consumers turn to AI answer engines for purchase advice, many observers are predicting a future where facts dominate emotions in marketing—where structured, factual information eclipses creative, emotionally driven content. No more emotion, just data. Perhaps. But then again, perhaps not. Abandoning emotion simply because the newest technology doesn’t directly traffic in it may be a…