Most AI Content Sounds Generic. Yours Doesn’t Have To.
Why Most AI Copy Falls Flat
Scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll see it everywhere. Polished, professional-looking AI content that somehow feels… empty.
It’s not that generative AI is bad. In fact, it’s the smartest tool most leaders have ever touched. But smart doesn’t equal aligned. Without direction, AI outputs blur into the same “corporate robot” voice that every other company is using.
It’s like hiring an intern with a PhD. Brilliant, fast, can research all night. But if you don’t give them context, they’ll crank out work that looks slick on the surface and misses the point underneath.
Imagine asking that intern: “Give me a 15-slide deck on our company’s market position versus our top three competitors.” They’ll deliver it overnight. And when you flip through the slides you realize:
Wrong voice
Wrong priorities
Looks fine, but doesn’t sound like us at all
That’s exactly what happens when you use AI writing tools without giving them your brand voice.
The Real Problem with AI Adoption
Here’s the reality:
You plug in a prompt, get a shiny result, and at first you’re impressed.
Then you read it back and think… “This could be any company, in any industry.”
It’s not bad. It’s just not you.
Instead of sharpening your identity, AI blurs it.
Not because the tool failed. But because the tool doesn’t know your story, your tone, your customers, or your edge. Just like the intern, it’s running on generic instructions. And generic inputs always lead to generic outputs.
AI can analyze data in milliseconds, but it can’t understand your brand or your audience unless you train it. Without that input, you’re amplifying average.
The Myth Leaders Keep Believing
The myth is that AI creates brilliance on its own. It doesn’t. It creates volume.
Many executives assume generative AI will automatically capture their brand identity and business goals, as if it comes preloaded with their culture and messaging. But that’s like believing the intern with a PhD will nail your investor deck without ever hearing your pitch.
Smart doesn’t equal aligned.
And that’s why most AI-generated copy feels generic. The tool isn’t broken. The instructions are.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Here’s what most leaders miss: AI isn’t the strategist. It’s the worker. The strategy is your brand voice.
Think of brand voice as the operating system. It’s the “code” that tells the intern how you actually think, talk, and make decisions. Without it, the deck is just data and buzzwords. With it, the work suddenly sounds like you.
A better analogy: AI is like a hammer in the hands of a carpenter. A skilled craftsman uses it to create something distinct and valuable. Someone else might just bang nails into random pieces of wood. Same tool, different outcome.
That’s how AI content works. It doesn’t create brilliance. It amplifies what you feed it.
If you feed it vagueness, you get polished vagueness.
If you feed it clarity, you get clarity at scale.
If you feed it your voice, you get a megaphone for your identity.
A Simple Framework for Leaders
So how do you stop AI from sounding like everyone else and start making it work for your brand?
Here’s the framework I give leaders:
1. Define your voice. Before you touch the tools, lock in the essentials:
What do we value?
How do we want to sound?
What words, phrases, or tones do we never want to use?
Write it down. Keep it short, clear, and brutally honest. This becomes the DNA for your AI copy and brand messaging.
2. Translate it for AI. AI doesn’t understand “we want to sound authentic but professional.” You need to be specific. For example:
“Write in a confident but conversational tone. Use short, punchy sentences. Avoid corporate jargon and filler words.”
“Use analogies to explain complex points, but keep them simple enough that a busy executive would nod along on the first read.”
These kinds of instructions turn your brand voice into usable “code.”
3. Train it like an intern. Don’t just toss one prompt at generative AI and call it done. Treat it like a conversation. The same way you’d coach a new hire, you need to give it context:
Who you are
Your business priorities
Your goals
Your ideal customers, their pain points, and what resonates with them
When AI knows who you’re speaking to, it can mirror your messaging in a way that lands with your actual audience.
Then run the same prompt three different ways. Compare the outputs. What feels most like you? What feels off? This is where you tune the system. Once you’ve nailed it, save that prompt or set of instructions as a template. That becomes your brand voice OS.
The goal isn’t perfection on the first try. It’s consistency and resonance.
What’s Possible When You Get This Right
When you approach AI this way, everything changes. Suddenly:
Your social posts don’t just go out faster. They sound like you on your best day.
Your blog drafts aren’t just finished quicker. They carry the same brand identity your audience recognizes.
Your customer emails aren’t just templated. They feel personal, even at scale.
Instead of losing your voice, you’re amplifying it.
The leaders who get this right don’t sound like they’re chasing AI hype. They sound like themselves, sharper and more consistent than their competitors.
Final Word
If you’re experimenting with AI and want to avoid the cookie-cutter trap, start with your brand voice. It’s the lever that makes everything else click.
This is what I help leaders do: make their brands AI-ready without drowning in jargon or gimmicks. If you want to explore what that looks like for your business, let’s connect.
