US Markets
Home›US Markets›Sectors›Artisan AI shifts from “Stop Hiring Humans” ads to hir…
Artisan AI shifts from “Stop Hiring Humans” ads to hiring a human rep
The company says its billboard message drove viral attention, but enterprise rollouts prompted staff questions that it now wants to address with a human business development hire.
Artisan AI, the company behind an AI business development representative called Ava, is hiring a human for the same type of work it previously sold under its viral “Stop Hiring Humans” slogan. The shift comes after Artisan became known in 2025 for billboards around San Francisco urging employers to replace human hiring for certain sales work.
According to an interview with CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, the company framed the slogan as viral marketing rather than a literal policy, adding that “you can’t stop hiring humans.” Carmichael-Jack said the messaging helped the business go viral, but it also created confusion during deployments for larger enterprise customers.
Carmichael-Jack said some employees reacted internally when they saw “Stop Hiring Humans” tied to the rollout, questioning whether the company meant to replace them. He described the intended message as targeting specific tasks that AI can handle better than a human, and noted that most deployments were not meant as headcount replacement.
The interview also touches on Artisan’s core thesis that AI agents can reduce labor costs rather than directly displace software budgets, with Ava positioned as an “AI employee.” The full discussion centers on why the company believes human roles are still part of its go-to-market approach despite its automated sales pitch.