🧠 Media buyers who rely on AI too much are about to get exposed...

Welcome back to the 103rd edition of Nord Media

AI is like flipping on the lights in a messy room.

It doesn’t create chaos. It just makes it impossible to ignore.

That’s exactly what’s happening in media buying right now.

AI didn’t tank your performance, but it did expose the gaps you’ve been papering over:

• Bland, overused creative

• Testing that’s more checkbox than strategy

• Targeting plans stuck in a 2021 playbook

The threat isn’t automation.

It’s how fast AI spotlights the cracks in your system.

So in this email, we’re breaking down:

• The 3 hybrid loops that combine AI speed with human judgment

• How to audit your stack before performance stalls

• Where AI should replace drag, not decisions

Let’s dive in.

What AI Really Does: Pressure-Test Your Whole Setup

Everyone’s talking about automation.

But that’s not the scary part.

The scary part is how fast AI surfaces what you’ve been getting away with:

• Creative that never gets tested

• Campaigns running on logic from 2 quarters ago

• Targeting that hasn’t evolved since lookalikes were king

AI isn’t replacing you.

It’s just pulling back the curtain.

If your systems are solid, AI makes them faster.

If they’re shaky, it makes them fall apart in public.

This isn’t a fight against automation.

It’s just a pressure test.

The 3 Hybrid Loops That Combine AI Speed With Human Judgment

AI isn’t the end-all-be-all solution. It’s a tool, and tools need the right systems. 

Here’s how to structure three high-leverage loops that let AI work for you, not instead of you:

1. Creative Loop: AI = Volume. You = Quality.

• Use AI to generate hook variations, resize assets, or remix top performers

• Let AI flag creative fatigue or underperforming angles

• Step in to decide what’s actually worth scaling or cutting

2. Bidding Loop: AI = Execution. You = Guardrails.

• Set clear targets: margin floors, contribution profit, or blended ROAS goals

• Use rules to limit overbidding and protect budgets

• Review performance weekly to ensure the algorithm stays on track

3. Insights Loop: AI = Trends. You = Strategy.

• Let AI surface shifts in audience behavior, channel performance, or spend efficiency

• Cross-check across platforms to avoid single-source bias

• Use insights to guide creative direction, budget reallocation, and testing priorities

When these loops are working, you eliminate busywork without sacrificing control. 

AI can deliver more signals, faster, but it still takes human judgment to know what to do with them.

How to Audit Your Media Buying Stack (Before AI Exposes the Drag for You)

If your performance is stalling, it’s not always a creative issue… it could be a structural one.

Here’s a quick audit to spot the gaps:

• Are we still manually pulling reports every week?

AI tools can automate reporting and surface trends in minutes. If your team spends hours building decks, that’s drag.

• Do we have clear testing logic across channels?

AI can help automate testing, but only if the inputs are clear. Randomly rotating creatives isn’t a strategy.

• Are campaign naming conventions clean and consistent?

If AI tools can’t read your structure, they can’t optimize it. Consistent naming unlocks better automation.

• Is our creative feedback loop fast and repeatable?

AI can flag fatigue early, but only if there’s a loop in place to act on it quickly.

• Are we still using rules that don’t map to business goals?

AI works best when your targets are aligned with actual margins, not arbitrary ROAS numbers.

• Do we have a way to score performance beyond surface-level KPIs?

AI can surface anomalies, but your stack should be set up to identify deeper signals like contribution margin, payback period, and LTV.

• Is there clarity on who makes decisions vs. who executes?

Without clear lines, AI just accelerates confusion. Audit your workflow before you automate it.

• Do we know where we want to go, or are we just reacting?

AI doesn’t provide vision. It scales what’s already working. If the strategy’s unclear, automation won’t fix that.

AI becomes an accelerator if you build your stack with a clear structure.

If not, it just makes the chaos move faster.

Final Thoughts

AI isn’t disrupting strong media buying fundamentals.

It’s simply revealing the weak ones.

It threatens systems built on guesswork, reactive decision-making, and manual tasks that should have been automated long ago.

The goal isn’t full automation.

It’s intelligent delegation. Removing friction so your team can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.

Strong strategy scales with AI.

Weak infrastructure breaks under it.

Want to learn more? Connect with me on social 👇
LinkedIn • Instagram • Twitter 

Thank you for reading! I appreciate you.

Sincerely,
Kody

Disclaimer: Special thanks to Patrol & Alia for sponsoring today’s newsletter.