AI didn't kill branding; it made brand the most important part of marketing.
Everyone can generate content now…so how do you stand out?
If you've spent time online over the past year or so, you've probably noticed that everyone suddenly sounds like an expert. Every business has a polished blog, confident social media posts, and a website that says all the right things. Generative AI made that possible, but it also made it far less impressive than it used to be. You may have even seen people adding in typos to prove they’re human!
For years, the businesses that did well were the ones that could create good content, and at scale. More was better, and that took time, money, or a team. It was a real barrier, and it kept a lot of businesses out. Now, Generative AI has removed that barrier. Today, anyone can generate an adequate article or a reasonable caption in minutes. This means what used to set you apart doesn't any longer. So, what will? Market research company Kantar's research on brand equity believes it’s about connecting with your audience (the real people): “Brands drive growth by building deep connections with people. The strongest brands are not only functional; they are emotionally relevant, trusted, instinctively chosen, and talked about.”
We agree!
What quality content means
This means that your content must be targeted to a particular group of people, in order to resonate with them. That’s what builds trust over time. You still have to create content consistently, but you can’t just drown your competitors in quantity anymore; it has to be good quality. But what is “quality”?
It means content that:
Is on brand: Aligns seamlessly with the rest of your marketing and the experience customers have with you
Is relevant: Talks directly to your target audience
Is valuable: Actually has something to say and adds value; it’s not just platitudes
Is credible: You have proof that what you say works (testimonials, case studies, quantitative results, etc)
Is authoritative: Showcases you as the expert in your area
Brand-building = trust-building
Analyst house Gartner published an analysis earlier this year with a title that says it all: In the AI Era, Trust Scarcity Is Rewriting the Rules of Brand Growth. “In AI-shaped feeds, search, recommendations - and eventually agentic buying experiences - brands increasingly win (or lose) based on trust signals, such as advocacy, consistency, and expert proof. In this context, brand building becomes intentional trust-signal design, and trust influences not just preference, but discoverability. When trust becomes scarce, brands must focus on creating credibility instead of just reach.” They argue that credibility signals (a clear point of view, real proof, people willing to vouch for you) are the things that move someone from "found you" to "chose you." This is what builds trust.
This tracks with what we see in client work. Two businesses can offer nearly identical services, at nearly identical prices, with nearly identical credentials. The one that gets chosen is the one the buyer trusts to be who they say they are. And that is old-school brand-building, made more important by AI robots that think like humans.
How powerful is your brand online?
Your website isn't the front door anymore; instead, it can be the second or third step in someone’s journey, or maybe they never visit it at all. People are increasingly asking AI tools to answer their questions before they ever land on a business's website. This is referred to as a zero-click experience, and it means clients are looking in places you can't see and don't control directly. Long gone are the days of easy attribution across the internet.
Which raises the question: if someone asks an AI tool who they should hire in your industry, does it describe you accurately? Does it know who you're for, what you do differently, and why they should trust you?
Your website tells people what you say about yourself. Your brand includes what everyone else believes about you – and that’s what the AI platforms are picking up on.
A clear brand will be amplified by AI…and stop you from becoming a commodity.
When AI makes it effortless to compare providers side by side, often the lowest price wins. A strong brand is what keeps you from becoming a line item. This matters if you're in professional services, where the work you do can look like what your competitors do on paper. What isn't similar is how you do it, who you do it for, and whether people believe you.
Before you start looking for technical solutions to getting found by AI, take a step back and think about how your brand is showing up at the moment. To support this, feel free to open up a temporary/incognito chat on one of the AIs, pose as a competitor, and start asking questions about your brand. See what it believes about you.
What are you actually known for? Not what you think you’re known for, but what people have said online.
Who does the internet think you’re talking to?
What do you believe about your industry that most people in it won't say out loud?
What proof do you have that backs up your claims, beyond "we're experts" and "we deliver results"?
If those answers are fuzzy or don’t align with what you want to see, that's the work, rather than yet more content. If the gap between how you appear and how you want to appear is obvious, then revisit your brand messaging and review your existing content to make sure you’re communicating who you are effectively. If the answers are fuzzy but you’re not sure where to go from here, go back to your customers. What do they want from you and what do they appreciate about you? That is the basis of your brand. If you’re getting to this point and still have questions, you’re in luck. We’d love to talk about this with you. Follow our free Brand Brew process, and then we’ll dig into it with you.
We hope you take some of our learnings (and reminders) to help you take inventory of your own marketing. What’s working well? What has fallen through the cracks? Where could you use a tune-up? Is it time to try something new: a new approach, a new marketing channel, or setting up a new system? As we often say, marketing is a team sport, and we’re here to help. If you have thoughts or questions that you’d like to run by us, set-up an introduction call to pick our brains on all things branding and marketing.