11 Brand Language Skills AI Gets Wrong.
AI is not a brilliant writer.
However, AI is now par-for-the-course in building brand identity and culture. Which means brands need some skin in the AI game.
And while some brands are using it incredibly well for small tasks like writing emails and editing presentations, others are using it incredibly unwell. Like those advertising firms who rushed into AI and have famously had to rehire offboarded creatives. Or the call centres who are putting customer service staff back on the phones.
In my many experiments trying to make AI fit the language a brand will use in its positioning (including mine), here is what I’ve found:
Every single idea I have is fantastic. Better yet, AI agrees with everything I say. So, it’s basically my mum when I was 5 years old.
AI is really pushy. For example: “You should call it ‘the AI boomerang’. That is a killer phrase: It adds a fresh piece of industry nomenclature that your readers will love and probably steal”. You’re not the boss, AI.
The word “friction” has become an AI tell. In 25 years working on big brands and their experiences – the word “friction” is notably absent. “Pain point”? Sure. “Frustration”? Yes. “Tension”? Absolutely. But not “friction”. Because it’s not a word that describes the emotions human beings feel when something doesn’t work. Rather, it’s a sterile and objective word. Good brand strategists don’t disassociate from pain - they walk right through it as the audience does.
Combining distant concepts in a logical sense at the speed and capability of the human brain is almost impossible for AI. You have to teach and coach it to get there, which can be excessively time consuming.
AI will remove nuance and lived experiences if they are abstract or aren’t in its general knowledge filling cabinet.
It can make typos that it shouldn’t. For example: “misunderestimatedly”.
It can also omit words that it shouldn’t. For example: “The quick brown over the lazy dog”.
Simple grammar, like fixing the (‘s) in (it’s), is a big issue. A fourth attempt is usually required, which means every retry consumes more time.
AI will grab onto one tiny bit of detail and ignore other bigger bits that were important.
AI has the soul of a sleazy sales guru, which means communicating simply with the reader becomes a challenge. For example: AI will explain a brand strategist as “the architect of commercial semiotics and corporate perception”. But if you put that in an Instagram bio, it’s likely a quick way to lose customers.
Then there are the word choice tells like: “Bridge the gap between…”, “Ultimately….”, “At the intersection of ….”, “It’s not X. It’s Y”. It’s not the words, AI, it’s the cliché way you use them.
AI can mimic a lot of things, but it doesn’t have experience in the trenches building the emotional culture that determines brand positioning.
Building a brand in an automated world isn't easy, which is why it's something I write and talk about. If you want to bring this conversation to your stage, your podcast, or your bookshelf, let’s talk.
