AI Adoption with Content Marketing: The Good, the Bad, and the Practical
Fri Jan 23 2026
Jenny Bristow, CEO & Founder of Hedy & Hopp, is joined by Ben Riggs, Content Manager at Kettering Health, to discuss the current state of AI and content marketing in healthcare. They explore the healthy tension between the excitement and fear of rapidly advancing AI tools, how marketers are leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) for content creation and strategy, and the importance of centering consumer trust in an age of AI-generated content.
Episode notes:
The AI Tension in Healthcare Marketing: Discussion on the "mind-blowing" capabilities and "alarming" risks of new AI video tools (like Arcads), and the fear of increasing distrust in the medical community due to easily generated, inauthentic content.
Decreasing Consumer Trust Online: A new eMarketer report shows that consumer trust in online content is decreasing due to the quick growth of AI-generated content in written, video, and image formats.
The Evolution of AI Application: Ben details moving from using AI for basic research and data aggregation to leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to investigate existing content and strategically find the "consumer gap" for new, relevant content.
NotebookLM as a Productivity Booster: Highlighting NotebookLM as a helpful tool for content writers, describing its utility for safe, precise, investigative thought-partner conversations, writing long-form content, and creating podcasts to help easily digest materials.
Prioritizing Foundational Marketing: Emphasizing the importance of strong basic SEO and practitioner practices (keywords, schema) before focusing solely on optimizing content for new AI strategies like GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
The Strategy of Dual Optimization: The Kettering Health team’s strategy is to "write both for humans and for humans using AI," prioritizing human-readable, scannable content that is informative and front-loaded with value.
Re-Energizing Audience-Centric Content: The shift towards phrase-based search in LLMs has reinforced the need for robust persona development and audience-oriented messaging, proving that the foundation of effective content marketing remains "basic marketing" (user journey, messaging strategy).
Looking to a Future of Trust and Responsible AI Adoption: Looking ahead, the hope is for the healthcare industry to adopt a definitive posture on responsible AI engagement, focusing on infrastructure and clear conversations about limits to ensure that AI utilization cultivates and maintains consumer trust.
Connect with Jenny:
Email: jenny@hedyandhopp.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/
Connect with Ben:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendriggs/
If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to hear your feedback! Please consider leaving us a review on your preferred listening platform and sharing it with others.
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Jenny Bristow, CEO & Founder of Hedy & Hopp, is joined by Ben Riggs, Content Manager at Kettering Health, to discuss the current state of AI and content marketing in healthcare. They explore the healthy tension between the excitement and fear of rapidly advancing AI tools, how marketers are leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) for content creation and strategy, and the importance of centering consumer trust in an age of AI-generated content. Episode notes: The AI Tension in Healthcare Marketing: Discussion on the "mind-blowing" capabilities and "alarming" risks of new AI video tools (like Arcads), and the fear of increasing distrust in the medical community due to easily generated, inauthentic content. Decreasing Consumer Trust Online: A new eMarketer report shows that consumer trust in online content is decreasing due to the quick growth of AI-generated content in written, video, and image formats. The Evolution of AI Application: Ben details moving from using AI for basic research and data aggregation to leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to investigate existing content and strategically find the "consumer gap" for new, relevant content. NotebookLM as a Productivity Booster: Highlighting NotebookLM as a helpful tool for content writers, describing its utility for safe, precise, investigative thought-partner conversations, writing long-form content, and creating podcasts to help easily digest materials. Prioritizing Foundational Marketing: Emphasizing the importance of strong basic SEO and practitioner practices (keywords, schema) before focusing solely on optimizing content for new AI strategies like GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). The Strategy of Dual Optimization: The Kettering Health team’s strategy is to "write both for humans and for humans using AI," prioritizing human-readable, scannable content that is informative and front-loaded with value. Re-Energizing Audience-Centric Content: The shift towards phrase-based search in LLMs has reinforced the need for robust persona development and audience-oriented messaging, proving that the foundation of effective content marketing remains "basic marketing" (user journey, messaging strategy). Looking to a Future of Trust and Responsible AI Adoption: Looking ahead, the hope is for the healthcare industry to adopt a definitive posture on responsible AI engagement, focusing on infrastructure and clear conversations about limits to ensure that AI utilization cultivates and maintains consumer trust. Connect with Jenny: Email: jenny@hedyandhopp.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/ Connect with Ben: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendriggs/ If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to hear your feedback! Please consider leaving us a review on your preferred listening platform and sharing it with others.