As bot networks swell and AI tools pump out endless content, it can be hard to separate genuine human input from digital noise in the bustling online marketplace. From fake followers to bot-created faux outrage campaigns, gauging whether your brand is sparking real connection or just attracting automated cheers (or jeers) has become a high-stakes challenge. It’s estimated that bots account for more than 50% of internet traffic—and they’re skewing marketing metrics in their wake.
For marketing leaders, this distortion can create dangerous illusions. Dashboards can look healthy—even impressive—but surface-level performance numbers can mask genuine audience behavior, and relying on them can send teams chasing the wrong strategies, the wrong channels and the wrong assumptions about what’s working.
Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank emphasize that in a landscape where metrics can be manufactured and noise can mimic relevance, the real competitive edge comes from learning to listen more carefully. Here, they share tips on how to pinpoint authentic human engagement and focus on the signals that cut through the static rather than amplify it.
“In an AI-saturated world, authenticity becomes your strongest differentiator. The brands that listen deeper, not louder, will win.”
Shift Your Focus From Vanity to Validity
Magda Paslaru, Founder and CEO of THE RAINBOWIDEA, urges marketers to rethink what engagement truly means. She argues that chasing and counting likes often paints an inaccurate picture of where a brand really stands with its audience.
“The key is to stop chasing volume and start tracking validity,” Paslaru says. “Marketing leaders need to go beyond surface analytics and dig into behavioral signals: time spent on content, repeat interactions, conversions, referrals and qualitative feedback.”
Fighting tech-generated distortion with tech-based clarifiers can help, she says, noting that tools that integrate CRM data, sentiment analysis and identity verification can filter out bots and fake accounts. But she adds that the biggest strategy shift needed is a cultural one: learning to measure impact over impressions.
“In an AI-saturated world, authenticity becomes your strongest differentiator,” Paslaru concludes. “The brands that listen deeper, not louder, will win.”
Cut Through the Static to Spot Authentic Engagement
Heather Stickler, CMO of Tidal Basin Group, believes marketers need to look beyond the clicks—which may or may not verify that they’ve caught their audience’s attention—and instead rely on engagement indicators that bots can’t easily emulate.
“Treat likes and raw reach as noise,” she advises. “Verify with first-party data and behavior. Track saves, replies, time on task, repeat visits and conversions tied to a single customer ID.”
While some bot traffic can be positive, to protect against manipulation, Stickler recommends using tools designed to detect artificial engagement.
“Use GA4, a CDP and bot filters to flag anomalies and click farms,” she says.
Ultimately, Stickler encourages leaders to hold campaigns accountable to real business lift.
“Run matchback to CRM and holdout tests to measure lift and real revenue, not vanity,” she says.
“There’s still benefit in strategic face-to-face meetings at conferences and industry events, where target audiences gather and genuine cohesion can grow.”
Align Digital Footprints and In-Person Connections to Real Business Outcomes
For Paul L. Gunn Jr., Founder of KUOG Corporation, the key to measuring true engagement lies in understanding how digital behavior links to tangible results.
“There is an intangible value that becomes very real when brands understand how to use their digital footprint to move prospects through pipelines, strengthen vendor and customer relationships, and drive revenue growth,” he says.
With the rise of AI-generated content and bot accounts, Gunn suggests companies should monitor the signals that connect their digital presence to pipeline growth, partner inquiries and newly secured business. But he also reminds leaders not to overlook the importance of real-world connection.
“There’s still benefit in strategic face-to-face meetings at conferences and industry events, where target audiences gather and genuine cohesion can grow,” he says. “The digital activity of team members who attend and share insights can drive additional online engagement with valuable connections.”
Gun stresses that every company must customize its own approach.
“It may be wise to use a content marketing flywheel that starts with in-person engagement and tracks secured deals and new partners,” he says. “Ultimately, each company must refine and prune its own flywheel to understand what truly drives impact.”
Identify the Metrics That Bridge Real Needs And Solutions
Certified Business and Executive Coach Melissa Sierra is the Founder of Melissa Sierra Focal Point Coaching. She helps clients home in on quality metrics with her 3C leadership framework, which stresses curiosity, clarity and conviction. When choosing which metrics can best contribute to strategic decisions, Sierra adds one more “C”: closing the gap.
“Look at the metrics that align to close the gap between the audience’s pain and your proposed solution,” she says.
Pinpointing these metrics, of course, requires ensuring that signals are indeed coming from your target audience. Sierra recommends verifying audience authenticity through layered insight-gathering.
“Verifying audience authenticity can be built around a layered process,” she explains. “This can include leveraging social media listening, utilizing pre-bid attention audiences, and devising content integration strategies that leverage first-party data from premium publishers and influencers to create a tiered scorecard that moves content from attention to intention.”
Sierra also stresses the need for leadership alignment—and a willingness to set vanity aside.
“There is a critical need for boardrooms to align on metrics that impact media and business objectives instead of ones that simply provide comfort.”
“Monitor what people seek, refine what’s unclear and measure whether engagement reduces friction or repeat questions. That’s how you separate signal from noise.”
Build Better Feedback Loops to Uncover Real Engagement
As Fractional CMO and CCO at SC Strategic Communications, Sarah Chambers studies how people interact with AI systems to identify where real value is created, leveraging her company’s own internal tools to refine content strategies.
“We use Power BI to analyze how employees interact with our AI-powered intranet chatbot—what they ask, what the bot returns and where answers fall short,” she says. “When gaps appear, we update the source content and engage subject matter experts so the system learns and employees get faster, more accurate answers.”
Chambers notes that bots are only as good as the content they’re fed, so every correction will improve trust, efficiency and adoption. Over time, she says, that loop reduces noise, strengthens expertise visibility and gives people confidence that the system works for them—not against them. Smart brands, Chambers notes, will apply the same principle externally.
“Monitor what people seek, refine what’s unclear and measure whether engagement reduces friction or repeat questions,” she says. “That’s how you separate signal from noise.”
Shift From Vanity to Value With These Proven Tactics
- Focus on validity, not volume. Abandon vanity metrics and dig into behavioral signals that reveal authentic intent.
- Treat surface-level metrics as noise. Likes and raw reach can be easily faked; prioritize first-party data tied to actual user behavior.
- Track engagement that connects to real business outcomes. Monitor digital signals that correlate with pipeline movement, relationships and revenue—not just online activity.
- Choose metrics that close the gap between needs and solutions. Identify metrics that reflect how well your brand addresses audience pain points.
- Layer your verification methods. Leverage strategies like social listening and analysis of first-party data to confirm audience authenticity.
- Reduce friction through continuous feedback loops. Analyze questions, gaps and repeated behaviors to help refine content and deepen audience trust.
Rise Above the Noise With Human-Centered Metrics
As AI-generated content accelerates and bot networks inflate digital activity, the challenge for marketing leaders isn’t simply identifying what’s real—it’s resisting the lure of metrics that feel comforting but don’t reflect true impact. Meaningful engagement cannot be captured through volume alone; real resonance shows up in behavior, in questions asked, in friction reduced and in outcomes that map back to actual humans.
Looking ahead, the brands that will stand out won’t be the ones that shout the loudest but the ones that listen most carefully. Marketers who embrace validated data, human-centered signals and continuous refinement will be better positioned to navigate an AI-saturated landscape where authenticity becomes not just a differentiator, but a long-term advantage.
