i have a hard time imagining a scenario where AI output is preferable to the alternatives.

Oh that’s easy, it’s when you need the thing cheap and now.

I used to work at a friend’s start-up where, charitably, his approach to business was archaic. “We don’t need to advertise because good word-of-mouth is good enough, and what’s the point of having a website and social media?” kind of archaic. Without a doubt, he would be using AI for absolutely everything.