The Human Brand in the Age of AI

Balancing AI and Authenticity in Brand Strategy

Generated with AI design tools. Selected and refined with intention.

Let’s be honest. Most of us can spot AI-generated content from a mile away. The overuse of emojis, the robotic phrasing, and the endless punctuation quirks give it away. It all starts to feel like déjà vu.

And that is the real challenge. Now that AI is table stakes, too many brands are starting to sound exactly the same. Overdependence on automation is flattening voices, stripping away nuance, and leaving audiences with copy-paste campaigns that lack brand essence.

Here’s the thing: AI is a powerful tool. It is transforming marketing faster than any of us can fully process. But brand building has never been about keeping up with tools. It has always been about connection. Which means the question is not “Should I use AI?” The real question is: “When does it make sense to let AI handle the message, and when does your authentic, human voice need to show up?”

Because thought leadership, nuance, lived experience, irreverence, and vulnerability cannot be automated. And they are more valuable now than ever.

The Rise of AI in Branding and Marketing

AI is everywhere: generating campaigns, predicting trends, segmenting audiences. It is smart, it is fast, and it is efficient. For stretched marketing teams, it feels like a gift.

But efficiency comes with a cost. AI cannot understand culture. It does not know the inside jokes your audience laughs at, the struggles they carry into the office every morning, or the deeper meaning behind why they choose one brand over another. Without human oversight, it produces content that is clean, polished, and soulless.

According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions and 76% get frustrated when brands do not deliver on them. Efficiency may get you in the door. But authenticity is what keeps you in the room.

Why the Human Brand Still Matters

Your brand is not a data set. It is an experience people feel.

Many consumers report that they stay loyal to brands that feel authentic and relatable, even when efficiency and scale are possible. As Krithika Shankarraman, former VP of Marketing at OpenAI and now at Thrive Capital, recently said: “Taste is going to become a distinguishing factor in the age of AI because there’s going to be so much drivel that is generated by AI.” In other words, when everyone has access to the same tools, it is human insight, sensibility, and craft that separate real brands from the noise.

Think about the campaigns that stuck with you. They were not memorable because they were optimized for an algorithm. They resonated because they tapped into culture, emotion, and connection. That is the work AI cannot do. And that is the work your brand must protect.

How Leaders Can Balance AI with Authentic Branding

The goal is not to push AI away. It is to use it intentionally as an accelerator, not a replacement. Leaders who get this balance right will see both efficiency and connection. Leaders who don’t risk turning their brand into noise.

Let me give you an example. A colleague told me about a retail brand that leaned hard into AI for their customer emails. At first, it was brilliant: personalized offers went out faster, customers got timely updates, and open rates spiked. But soon, complaints started rolling in. The tone felt off. Jokes landed flat. Loyal customers even said, “This doesn’t sound like you anymore.” The company had scaled reach, but they had lost their voice.

Contrast that with a nonprofit I worked alongside. They use AI to generate first drafts of donor thank-you notes — but then a human steps in to personalize with the right warmth, stories, and cultural touchpoints. The AI handles efficiency. The people preserve connection. Donors wrote back saying those thank-you notes were the most heartfelt they’d ever received.

That is the difference.

• Set guardrails. Define your brand voice and values before you automate. For public tools, that means re-checking every time new versions roll out, because what worked last quarter may not translate the same way today. For private tools, it means making sure your marketing team knows how to feed the AI the right context. Prompts without training produce brand-wrong content. A playbook and clear governance are essential.

• Use AI for support, not substitution. Some messages can be automated without losing human connection — like billing reminders or appointment confirmations. But the moment your brand speaks in a way that shapes perception, a human needs to be in the driver’s seat. As AI becomes another “team member” alongside your people, leaders cannot assume the work is automatically brand-right. Someone still has to check for accuracy, nuance, and resonance.

• Audit regularly. AI should be checked just like you would check the work of a junior team member. Does it reflect your tone? Does it avoid bias? Is it inclusive? Does it keep your promises to your audience? Routine audits ensure you catch small mistakes before they snowball into reputational risk.

• Invest in people. Equip your teams not just with tools but with discernment. They need to know how to refine outputs, sense when something “feels off,” and humanize the final product. AI can deliver speed, but only people can bring the emotional nuance that creates trust.

• Own the outcomes. Leaders can delegate tasks to AI, but they cannot delegate responsibility. At the end of the day, it is the CMO or brand leader’s name attached to what the company puts into the world. Accountability for the voice, accuracy, and impact of your brand does not go away.

AI can scale your reach. Only humans can sustain your relevance.

A Personal Example: Refreshing One Mason Lane

This year, I had to take my own advice.

I realized my brand, One Mason Lane, needed a refresh. Even as a brand strategist, I could not ignore the shift happening in the industry. My clients are facing new challenges around AI, leadership, and growth. And to meet their needs, my brand had to reflect clarity, innovation, and forward momentum.

So I updated my visual identity, refined my positioning, and sharpened my messaging. All while holding onto my anchor: Create Your Own Lane.

Because while tools and trends evolve, my commitment to helping leaders and companies show up authentically remains the same.

And yes, I am also exploring new collaborations around how AI can elevate leadership development and marketing. I am not sharing the details just yet, but trust me, they are coming.

What This Means for Companies Preparing for 2026

Right now, companies are evaluating performance and sketching out next year’s strategies. This is the moment to pause and ask:

• Does your brand voice still align with your values?

• Are you clear on where AI fits into your strategy, and where it does not?

• Is it time for a refresh to reflect who you are today and where you are headed tomorrow?

The brands that thrive in the AI era will be the ones that embrace the tools without losing their humanity.

Closing Thought

AI will keep getting smarter. But it will never be human. And it will never replace the trust, connection, and influence that only your authentic brand can create.

The future belongs to leaders who use AI to accelerate, not erase, their humanity.

And if you’re still wondering whether your brand voice needs more AI or more human? Just ask yourself: Would you trust a chatbot to give your wedding toast? Exactly. Neither should your brand.

If your company is considering a refresh or exploring fractional marketing leadership in this new AI era, let’s talk.