Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a significant increase in brands using AI-generated content. Yes, it’s been part of the toolkit for a while now, but it feels like AI content is prevalent. And people aren’t even trying to disguise it as their own work anymore.
The tell-tale signs are there. Not just the overuse of the em dash, but the sentence structure. The All Words Capitalised In Headings. We’re all familiar with the patterns.
My issue isn’t that the copy is bad, quite the opposite; AI is incredibly good at producing content. Give it a decent prompt and within seconds you’ll have a well-written blog, a press release or a LinkedIn post that is grammatically flawless and structurally sound.
Perfectly acceptable, remarkably forgettable
The problem is that everyone else is doing exactly the same thing, so you’re left with a sea of content that’s perfectly acceptable, but also remarkably forgettable.
That’s a huge risk for brands because if every business is using AI to produce its thought leadership, opinions and social content, how does anyone’s voice stand out? How do you create a brand personality when the same technology is shaping the tone, rhythm and structure of everything you publish?
Is efficiency working counter to your goals?
I completely understand the temptation. AI is ruthlessly efficient. When deadlines are looming, inboxes are overflowing and you’re trying to do more with less, asking ChatGPT or Claude to draft an article feels like an obvious productivity win. For many people, writing isn’t even their day job, it’s just another task on an ever-growing to-do list.
But it’s exactly those people – the industry leaders, subject matter experts and opinion makers – whose voices matter most.
You are interesting
People don’t want to hear what AI thinks about the future of financial advice, homebuying or sustainability. They want to hear what the people shaping those industries think.
That’s where the real value lies. AI can help organise ideas, challenge your thinking and even improve your writing, I use it every day, but it shouldn’t replace your perspective. It can’t replicate years of experience, your frustrations with the status quo or the conversations you’ve had with customers that shape your opinions. Those are the things that make content genuinely interesting.
AI is exceptionally good at finding the average of everything that’s already been written, but brands don’t grow by being average.
Overcoming ‘average’
The brands that will win over the next few years will be the ones producing the most distinctive content, not the most content. Good communication isn’t just about saying something well, it’s also having something worth saying in the first place.
By all means use AI. Let it save you time. Let it help overcome writer’s block. Let it take care of the heavy lifting.
Just don’t let it become your voice because in a world where everyone sounds the same, authenticity becomes your biggest competitive advantage.
Written by Adrian Jones
Read our next blog on: Have reactive comments lost their value?