Trending Articles
Trending Topics
Trending
By a complete coincidence, yesterday we published an article about the security risk shadow AI is posing – based on Mindgard research. Until you read that story you may not even have been aware of this AI security testing company, or even what such a company does. And after this exclusive interview with Fergal Glynn, Chief Marketing Officer at Mindgard, you’ll be in no doubt.
As CMO, Fergal is responsible for making the world aware of Mindgard’s mission to secure the world’s AI. And he has form: before joining Mindgard, Fergal was CMO at Next DLP, acquired by Fortinet, and before that VP of Marketing at Shopify and 6 River Systems.
“At Mindgard, we test AI systems for vulnerabilities, so we come at this with a healthy dose of skepticism,” Fergal told us. “We’re constantly asking, ‘Where could this go wrong?'” It’s an interesting angle, and one that Fergal applies to marketing.
So how can AI be used without going wrong? One thing we often talk about at TechFinitive is authenticity – we even hosted a panel at Advertising Week Europe on the topic – and that’s something Fergal touches upon below. “Authenticity doesn’t start with a tone of voice or a polished message. It starts with whether you’re actually solving real problems for your audience.”
In this case, our audience is marketing professionals who want to make the most out of AI tools. So let’s hope this first interview in our new series, CTRL+Marketing, hits the spot.
It’s not about one specific tool. What excites me most is the ability to test ideas faster and more realistically than ever before. AI lets us simulate how different audience personas might react to messaging, so we can identify weak points or misalignments before we’ve invested too heavily. For example, we’ve used large language models to evaluate messaging tone against various audience profiles, from technical stakeholders to budget-focused executives, and the insights have often challenged our assumptions in useful ways.
We also use generative AI to draft early versions of campaign content, create briefing outlines, and compile internal documentation. These outputs are never final, but they give us a significant head start. It means we’re not burning time on the blank page. But creative shaping is still very much a human role.
AI tools are opening up space for better thinking. We’re able to prototype, iterate, and refine much faster, which elevates the overall strategic quality of the work. And as AI capabilities grow, I’m particularly interested in how they’ll continue to augment (not replace!) marketers.
Authenticity doesn’t start with a tone of voice or a polished message. It starts with whether you’re actually solving real problems for your audience. In our case, that means helping enterprises manage serious cybersecurity challenges and reduce operational risk. Our communications are grounded in that value proposition: we’re here to take care of complex, high-stakes problems, and everything we say should reinforce that.
When we use AI in marketing, it’s in service of that mission. We might use it to refine messaging, tailor content for different industries, or speed up content creation, but the core of what we’re saying doesn’t change. And frankly, do clients care more about whether every word was human-written or that their partners are helping them move faster, stay secure, and prepare for what’s next?
Given the nature of our business, our clients are exploring and deploying AI themselves. As long as we stay focused on helping them succeed, AI becomes a tool for deeper connection, not a barrier to authenticity.
AI enhances trust when it helps people make better, more informed decisions. If I receive a message that clearly understands what I’m trying to achieve – whether that’s solving a problem, evaluating a product, or learning something new – I’m not concerned about whether a machine helped write it. If AI can help create more relevant, personalized experiences that feel genuinely helpful, not just targeted. That’s a win for both sides.
But the moment that usefulness gives way to manipulation, when it feels like I’m being nudged into a decision that benefits the brand more than it helps me, then trust erodes quickly. People are more perceptive than some marketers assume. They can tell when content has been A/B tested to death or optimized to steer behavior rather than serve a need.
In the AI security space, trust isn’t just important; trust is everything. If a company’s model leaks data, hallucinates, or behaves unpredictably, it doesn’t matter how slick the messaging is. You’ve lost credibility. That same standard applies to how we use AI in marketing: it must reinforce clarity, control, and respect for the user’s intent. Otherwise, we risk undermining the very trust our brand is built on.
Absolutely. AI has had a real impact on how I approach the creative process, not by replacing it, but by accelerating and enriching it. One of the most valuable aspects is that it helps me get to a rough first version of almost anything. That draft is never perfect. But it gives me something tangible to react to. That’s often the hardest part of creative work for me: breaking the inertia. With AI, I can get out of my own head faster.
I use it regularly for idea generation, headline variations, persona-specific messaging, and even brainstorming campaign themes. It’s especially helpful when I want to test how something sounds to different audiences, for example, how a message might land with a CTO versus a procurement lead. It helps surface tone and clarity issues early.
That said, AI is only as good as the prompts and feedback you give it. If you don’t have a strong creative compass, it won’t make the work better. But when used well, it speeds up the messy middle – that iterative, ambiguous space between idea and execution – and frees up more time for refinement and polish. In that way, it’s not just a tool, it’s a task accelerator.
I see the role shifting from execution to judgment. AI can now handle many of the tactical tasks (writing copy, designing assets, segmenting audiences, analysing performance), and it can do them at speed and scale. But what it still lacks is the ability to prioritize, to read a room, and to understand context. It doesn’t know the political nuance inside a client’s organization, the subtleties of brand history, or the strategic tradeoffs a company is navigating. That’s where human marketers come in.
Discernment, not just taste or creativity, defines our value. It’s knowing when a campaign message is technically accurate but emotionally tone-deaf. It’s recognising when short-term engagement metrics are distracting from long-term brand health. And it’s being able to connect the dots across product, sales, and customer success to tell a story that actually resonates.
At Mindgard, we think a lot about how AI behaves under stress, how it reacts when the stakes are high and the data is uncertain. That perspective influences how we use AI in marketing, too. You still need people to ask hard questions, challenge assumptions, and hold the work to a higher standard. That kind of leadership doesn’t get automated. If anything, it becomes more essential as the tools get more powerful.
One common mistake is thinking AI is just a faster way to do what we’ve always done: write more blog posts, send more emails, churn out more assets. It’s tempting to see it as a productivity engine. But that mindset misses the real opportunity. The value of AI isn’t in flooding channels with more content, but in making your work smarter. That means using AI to deepen your understanding of your audience, pressure-test ideas before launch, and iterate faster on what actually resonates.
At Mindgard, we test AI systems for vulnerabilities, so we come at this with a healthy dose of skepticism. We’re constantly asking, “Where could this go wrong?” That same mindset applies to marketing. Instead of asking what you can automate, ask: What can I improve with AI involved? That subtle shift reframes everything, from how you design campaigns to how you measure their effectiveness.
For example, instead of using AI to write a dozen headlines, use it to explore how different personas might interpret a single message. It’s about sharper thinking, earlier insights, and higher standards.
