Field Tips: Using AI Without Losing Authenticity

Nearly 94% of marketers plan to use AI for content creation this year. But as the spam cannon of automated posts explodes, audiences are beginning to push back against messages that look perfect on the outside but feel emotionally hollow.

I realize we, as marketers, can’t realistically avoid AI. It’s an incredible tool! But when we lean too hard on automation we risk losing the very thing that builds trust – our human perspective.

Here are a few ways to keep your content human-centric and authentic:

• Treat AI as an intern, not a creative director. Use AI to generate outlines or summarize research, but always have a human craft the final narrative to ensure it resonates with your audience’s actual needs.
• Prioritize proprietary insights. AI can only repurpose what already exists. To stand out, lean into your unique case studies, community stories and internal expertise that a machine can’t replicate.
• Establish a clear AI ethics policy. Be transparent about how you use technology. We recently published our own AI Statement to outline our commitment to using these tools responsibly while keeping human ingenuity at the forefront.

Ready to move past generic, automated messaging? Let’s chat about building a content strategy that actually builds trust. Reach out to our team to get started.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

New data reveals a growing “ghost citation” problem in AI search, where large language models (LLMs) use a brand’s content but fail to mention the brand by name in the response. According to an analysis of nearly 4,000 domains across various AI engines like ChatGPT and Gemini, 61.7% of citations are functionally invisible. While the AI may provide a source link, it frequently omits the brand name within the text of the answer, leaving the source material anonymous to the reader.

WHY IT MATTERS

This trend complicates the already difficult task of measuring marketing ROI. When AI bots scrape content to provide answers without clear brand attribution, it creates a leaky bucket for traffic where users get the value of your content without ever entering your ecosystem. Marketing professionals must adapt by creating highly unique, un-scrappable brand voices and proprietary data that force AI models to recognize and credit the specific source of the information.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

New data from the IAB reveals a significant shift in digital spending, with creator marketing now established as a core media channel rather than an experimental tactic. While traditional search growth is showing signs of slowing, investment in creators is surging as brands seek more authentic ways to reach audiences. The report highlights that creator-led content is increasingly being treated with the same strategic rigor as traditional media, supported by better measurement tools and a growing reliance on social platforms for discovery.

WHY IT MATTERS

When paired with traditional search, creator partnerships offer a high-trust complement that can drive both brand awareness and performance. This shift requires teams to move beyond one-off influencer campaigns and instead integrate creators into the foundational layers of their media planning and attribution models. To stay competitive, brands must treat creator content as a scalable, measurable asset rather than a secondary social play.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

A recent report revealed that 49% of U.S. generative AI users are likely or very likely to try a different brand than their usual one if an AI assistant suggests it as an alternative. This trend is part of a broader evolution where AI chatbots are moving from simple informational tools to active agents that handle tasks like providing product recommendations and assisting with sales. While total trust in AI shopping assistants is still developing, the data suggests that when consumers do engage with these tools, they are remarkably open to the AI-suggested path over established brand loyalty.

WHY IT MATTERS

AI optimization (AEO/GEO) is no longer just about visibility — it is about brand protection and acquisition. If nearly half of your active customers are willing to switch brands based on a chatbot’s logic, your presence in those AI training sets and real-time retrieval results is critical. It forces a shift toward answer-first content and structured data to ensure your brand’s unique value propositions are accurately interpreted by large language models. As AI agents begin to act more autonomously, the moment of discovery and the moment of purchase are merging; if your brand isn’t the one being recommended, you may lose the customer before they even reach your website.