Is AI damaging your brand?

I know, you’re probably bored of the conversation, but aren’t you equally bored of the same content being shared over and over again?

You know the poster, you’ve probably seen it a million times, but each time it is for a different business. While I’m under no illusion that AI is here, and here to stay, I do believe that just because we have access to it, doesn’t mean we should use it. 

When it comes to science, health and life saving applications, I am ALL for it. If we can use AI to progress healthcare and improve people's quality of life - then we should. But then we get into the politics of morals and ethics, and we don’t have enough time for that, there are two many ginger faced people doing bad things.

Consistency builds trust. When we talk about this we often see examples like Cadbury - where you think of the classic purple, or the gorilla advert. But these rules don’t just apply to big brands, they apply to all brands. 

These AI generated posters are all American examples, but they make my point in a really good way. These could be for my local pub or cafe (who have all used AI) - because they’ve used the exact same style, layouts and fonts. I chose not to pull out local examples in a bid to not offend anyone…but we all know that burger you are showing, isn’t what is going to turn up on my plate. 

So, what are businesses really doing in the long run by churning this stuff out? Personally, I think they are damaging their brand, their reputation and they are (or soon will be) losing clients. There is a reason we have food photographers, marketers, designers and all the other creative talents it takes to make great brands and build businesses. We build trust with your audience, we show real products, use real voices and use real research to deliver outcomes. The clue is in the name really, artificial intelligence. Consumers want authenticity. 

Showcasing your USP to a client is more often than not done creatively, whether it be food photography, product packaging, marketing or content creation and I don’t believe we should be trusting AI with this. 

Take the example of Kew Gardens chocolate range. Real designers, real photographers (real chocolatiers too!) coming together to rebrand and showcase an amazing product and the results? Sales increased by an estimated 67%.

How many times have you used ChatGPT (other platforms available) and had to question it because you think it’s wrong? My fear is the people who don’t question it, who believe AI is right the first time. Now, I hope you weren’t expecting some writing structure to this blog…because that ain’t me (and I’m not using AI). 

So, in a nutshell, from this short rant I’ve had, AI is everywhere, it is built into the software we use as designers so I can’t be a hypocrite and say I live an AI free life…but, please, for the love of God, trust your creative team and let them do their jobs. Imagine if someone was coming to you saying I’ve done your job using AI, what would your response be? 

And to finish, if you are saying you’re an ethical business doing everything to bring down your carbon footprint or you’re paperless (congratulations?) and you’re using AI more than I’m drinking gin…I’d read this article if I were you and learn how AI really works.