We are entering an era where speed is no longer our advantage, discernment is. Where doing more is not the goal, deciding better is. AI can analyse, predict, and optimise. But it cannot feel. It cannot hesitate. It cannot care. And in the quiet space after the sale where trust is earned or lost, that matters more than ever. This is a moment to rethink what loyalty truly means, and who is responsible for keeping the promise.
My friend and I were at the Helsinki Market Square, buying small gifts for visiting guests. We noticed good-looking business card holders priced at €10.
“How much for ten?” we asked.
“10 x €10 is a hundred,” a young saleswoman said.
Being at the market, our consumer logic presumed a discount when buying in volume.
“This is not my stall. I can’t make pricing decisions,” the girl said.
“Is the owner nearby?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s the guy behind me.”
“Would you mind checking with him?”
Reluctantly, she turned around and had a quick chat. When she returned, she said: “93.
”I smiled, curious why 93, not 94 or 92.
So I said, “That’s OK, we’ll buy them. But why 93?”
She replied: “Well, my boss told me to give you 95, and you will ask for 90, so we land at 93. But why waste time? It is 93.”
We had a good laugh and paid the money.
For years, when telling this story, I dressed it as a minimalistic type of a typical conversation with a Finn: emotionally dry, perfectly linear. Now, more and more, it reminds me of an interaction with AI: logically right, but emotionally off.
It delivers what you ask for. But not knowing the context, AI misses what really matters: empathy. And in marketing, where emotions, shared experience, and storytelling meaning matter most, that gap can quietly erode trust.
In a world increasingly driven by AI, the challenge is not in what the system can do. It’s in deciding what it should do and when a human should step in. AI delivers speed. Humans deliver meaning. That’s why I believe the human role is evolving from doing to deciding. And that shift changes everything.
It changes how brands show up after the sale, what loyalty means, and the skill sets we need. AI can automate customer service, predict churn, and even draft magical thank-you messages. But it cannot decide when trust is at risk or when to create a moment that makes someone feel truly seen.
So, let me end where I began.
That business card holder vendor in Finland. She was efficient. But not relational.
She gave us the deal but didn’t create a moment.
And AI without humans is doing the same.
That’s why the shift from Homo Faber, the human who does, to Homo Decernens, the human who decides, is so essential today.
AI can handle the pattern.
But only we can carry the promise.
The question I’ll leave you with is this:
In your business, your role, your team, who is entrusted with the promise? And are you just doing... or are you truly deciding?
