Kieran Flanagan recently shared something that caught my attention: "There’s a reason Claude’s home page features a painter and not a factory worker." He followed it with an even sharper observation: "No one is excited by the vision of a human operating machinery (AI) to automate people’s jobs." And that is the core tension in AI product marketing right now.

We are watching a generation of AI companies default to the easiest story to tell: automation. Faster. Cheaper. Fewer people. Less work. But as Kieran put it, what actually motivates people is the benefit: if AI changes how work gets done, "how does it make your life better?" In other words, users do not want to imagine themselves tending the machine. They want to imagine themselves becoming better at what they care about.

"I’ve said that AI will help humans focus on their ‘craft’ vs. ‘tasks’." - Kieran Flanagan

That framing is more than a clever line. It is a positioning strategy.

The painter vs. factory worker is a positioning choice

Claude showing a painter is not a random aesthetic. It is a deliberate promise about identity.

A factory worker operating machinery implies:

You are adjacent to the tool, managing it.
The tool is the center of the story.
The goal is throughput and standardization.

A painter implies:

You are the center of the story.
The tool disappears into the background.
The goal is expression, quality, and mastery.

The image signals who the user becomes after adopting the product. That ties directly to Kieran’s line: "People don’t buy software, they buy a version of their future selves." AI messaging that leads with automation often sells an operational outcome, but fails to sell an identity outcome.

Why "automation" is a weak lead message (even when it is true)

Most buyers intellectually understand that AI automates tasks. The problem is emotional and social:

Automation triggers job loss anxiety
If your headline implies replacement, you force the buyer to defend the purchase internally (and often publicly). Even if the real story is productivity, the word "automation" can sound like headcount reduction.
Automation sounds like plumbing
It is table stakes, not differentiation. Everyone claims it. If every AI tool says "automate your workflow," no one stands out.
Automation centers the tool, not the person
Kieran’s phrase "human operating machinery" is key. It makes the user feel like an operator, not a craftsperson.
Automation undersells the real value
The best AI products do not just eliminate steps. They improve decision quality, increase creative range, and shorten the distance between intent and output.

"Craft vs. tasks" is the story that people actually want

When Kieran says AI helps humans focus on craft, he is pointing at a broader truth: people want to spend more time doing the parts of work that feel meaningful, and less time doing the parts that feel like bureaucratic overhead.

"Craft" does not only mean art. It means any work where judgment, taste, and expertise matter:

A marketer shaping a narrative
A salesperson tailoring a point of view
A lawyer refining an argument
A product manager clarifying a strategy
A support leader designing better customer experiences

"Tasks" are the repeatable fragments that steal time from that craft:

Formatting, rewriting, summarizing
Duplicating updates across tools
Hunting for information
Turning rough notes into polished artifacts

If your AI product truly helps, the promise is not "we automate tasks." The promise is "we return you to the work only you can do." That is the painter.

"Too many AI companies are leading with ‘automation’ and saying nothing about the ‘craft’." - Kieran Flanagan

A simple messaging framework: sell the craft first

If you want to apply Kieran’s insight, try structuring your homepage, pitch, and onboarding around this sequence.

1) Name the craft your buyer is proud of

Do not start with your model, your agents, or your workflow engine. Start with what the buyer wants to be great at.

Examples:

"Write campaigns that sound like your best thinking. Every time."
"Close the quarter with confidence, not spreadsheets."
"Ship product decisions backed by customer truth, not guesswork."

2) Identify the tasks that are stealing the craft

Make the pain tangible. Make it familiar.

Examples:

"Hours lost rewriting drafts, stitching together feedback, and reformatting for every channel."
"Endless follow-ups, status updates, and meeting notes that never turn into action."

3) Show the transformation in human terms

This is where the future-self story lives.

Before: "You are drowning in admin and context switching."
After: "You are spending your best hours on judgment and creativity."

A good test: does the outcome read like a promotion in your buyer’s identity?

4) Then explain the automation as the mechanism

Automation is not the hero. It is the engine under the hood.

Say:

"AI handles the repetitive prep work so you can focus on the final decision."

Instead of:

"Automate your entire process end to end."

5) Add trust, because craft is personal

Craft is tied to reputation. If you are asking someone to ship work faster, you must protect their standards.

Address:

Accuracy and sources
Brand voice and controllability
Privacy and compliance
Review loops and approvals

Concrete examples of "craft-first" positioning

Here are a few ways different categories can shift their messaging without changing the product.

For marketing tools

Automation-first: "Automate content creation and scheduling."
Craft-first: "Turn ideas into on-brand campaigns your team is proud to publish."
Mechanism: "Draft, repurpose, and adapt content across formats while preserving voice."

For customer support tools

Automation-first: "Deflect tickets with AI agents."
Craft-first: "Resolve customers with empathy and speed, without burning out your team."
Mechanism: "AI handles triage and drafts responses, humans approve the final tone."

For finance tools

Automation-first: "Automate monthly close and reporting."
Craft-first: "Spend less time reconciling and more time advising the business."
Mechanism: "AI categorizes, flags anomalies, and prepares narratives for review."

Notice what changes: the buyer sees themselves doing higher-status, higher-meaning work.

Common mistakes when trying to sell the craft

Even teams that agree with Kieran’s point can slip into a few traps.

Vague inspiration with no proof
"Unlock your creativity" means nothing without specific use cases and outputs.
Overselling replacement
If your story implies the human is optional, you will trigger resistance. Most buyers want augmentation, not elimination.
Feature lists without identity
A wall of capabilities is not a narrative. It does not answer: who do I become?
Forgetting the buyer has multiple audiences
Your champion has to justify the tool to leadership, peers, IT, and themselves. Craft-first messaging helps them tell a positive story that is easier to defend.

A quick checklist for your AI homepage and pitch

Use this to sanity-check whether you are selling a painter or a machine operator:

Does your hero line describe a human outcome, not a technical function?
Do you explicitly name the craft your user wants to improve?
Do you show a before-and-after that feels like a better work life?
Is automation described as the mechanism, not the headline?
Do you reduce fear by clarifying the human-in-the-loop and quality controls?
Can a user say: "This makes me better at my job," not just "This saves time"?

Kieran Flanagan’s post is a reminder that the best AI marketing is not about proving the model is powerful. It is about proving the user becomes more themselves: more creative, more decisive, more proud of the work they ship.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Kieran Flanagan, Marketing (CMO, SVP) | All things AI | Sequoia Scout | Advisor. View the original LinkedIn post →