The AI fallacy : efficiency vs. authenticity

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👋 Hey everyone,

I’ve been absent from our weekly chat for a little while because I’ve been deep into writing my book - and let me tell you, it’s an intense experience all around.

But this week I wanted to share a few thoughts on how AI generated content is rolling out in the industry. I see a lot of it lately – some brands disclose that the content is generated with AI, some don’t.

Some even take pride in the fact that people can’t tell whether their content is real or not.

I see a real problem with that.

If as consumers, we can’t tell what is real and what is not, and there is no common agreement in the industry on this, how do we think things will evolve?

We already live in a world inundated with content, and brands find themselves right now at a crossroads, between the pursuit of relevance and authenticity, and the forbidden fruit of cheap content creation.

This reality presents both challenges and opportunities.  

On one side, the quest for quantity often overrides the pursuit of quality. In an effort to capture attention, brands resort to volume, diluting their narrative to the point of painful mediocrity. This race to the bottom commodifies storytelling, reducing brands to weak echoes in the noise.

The temptation to embrace AI as a silver bullet is definitely taking over right now, coming in with the promise of efficiency, scale, and cost-effectiveness.

But here’s the great fallacy of this whole AI content debacle: in the pursuit of efficiency, brands risk sacrificing the very essence of storytelling—authenticity. And delegating a brand’s story to algorithms jeopardises the very fabric of brand authenticity—a risk too big to ignore.

A potential and probable solution

One alternative that is starting to pick up consideration from the more forward thinking brands, is to nurture in-house creatives and creators. In an era where people buy from people, there is great merit in using people on the inside of the brand to tell those brand stories more authentically.  

In-house creators, when empowered, supported and developed in the right way, are able to provide a much higher and intimate understanding of brand ethos and can connect on a much deeper level with consumers. Their loyalty to the brand narrative, coupled with their own personal authenticity, has the potential to break through the noise and engage much better with audiences out there.

Some very tangible benefits of developing in-house creators:

1. Network : they are well connected internally across various departments and verticals and are able to express accurately internal needs to the outside world

2. Availability : they are reachable at all times, and you can depend on them putting the content out when you need it

3. Scalability : multiplying the content they put out is easy, friction-less, and still efficient

4. Personal investment : Consumer brands thrive on passion and commitment, attributes inherently present in in-house content creators. Unlike external agencies with many different clients, internal teams are uniquely dedicated to the brand's success.

5. Product knowledge : they understand the products better than external agencies and can deliver the right messages much more accurately

6. Consumer insights : they have access to the highest level of company data and consumer insights so they understand on a much deeper level what the company is looking to achieve and how

7. Connectivity : because they are constantly engaging with consumers on a daily basis, they understand the pain points, the desires, the experiences of their consumers really well

Are there cons to bringing creators in house? For sure. Consumers today are able to tell whether is a creator is genuine or not, no matter if they are external to the brand or not.

And I am not saying that brands should stop working with agencies and external creators – but there needs to be a healthy mix at play, all with a higher level of intentionality and vision.

We should not forget that people buy from people. And it is ultimately the human touch that makes real connections happen, and true authenticity come through.

What is your view on this? I’d love to know what you think – please share!

Until next time, keep your 👀 on the future.

Oana xx