AI-Boosted Branding… Serious?
The buzz around artificial intelligence -AI- often comes cloaked in either fantastical promise or apocalyptic doom. From robots allegedly taking over creative roles to customer journeys devolving into cold, algorithmic mazes, the fears are real, if somewhat overblown.
And then there’s the soul-crushing vision of brands losing their essence amid a flood of binary code. But let’s take a step back. The reality? AI is not the villain here. If anything, it’s the hyper-efficient sidekick: a tireless, data-savvy, emotionally tone-deaf, but undeniably helpful tool.
Used wisely, AI doesn’t override branding strategy, it turbocharges it. It hands marketing, brand and business teams a powerful toolkit to break free from the mundane and engage with the meaningful. It enables deeper exploration of brand identity, clearer articulation of purpose, and richer human-centred experiences.
Artificial intelligence is not a strategy, it is a supporting tool that serves as a strategic amplifier.
AI refines rather than redefines. It enables positioning reboots, unlocks insights buried in oceans of data, and supports the delivery of personalised, real-time content.
Crucially, AI doesn’t supplant your brand’s voice, it sharpens it. The real challenge lies in staying in the driver’s seat. It’s about mastering the art of the right questions and ensuring a guiding human touch.
And let’s not ignore the double-edged sword: relying too much on AI without setting humanised checkpoints can derail strategic intentions. It’s not enough to deploy a bot or use a predictive model. Teams must continually ensure brand values and purpose are reflected, refined, and protected.
Preserving Brand Identity in an Automated World
Today’s brand-scape is littered with examples of AI-led initiatives that promise convenience, but risk stripping away emotional depth. With generative AI now capable of crafting headlines, writing product descriptions, and even generating mascots, it’s easy to lose sight of the human voice. But the brands that win? They automate with intention and orchestrate with empathy.
Branding isn’t about shiny tech or clever gimmicks. It’s about creating trust, identity and emotional connections. It’s about resonance.
Whether through the co-creation of a GenAI mascot or an AI platform like AIR or whatever you most like, success only comes when machine-generated results are reinterpreted through human perception and values expressed in the brand.
This is where the role of symbols, rituals, and emotional continuity becomes paramount. The real brand lives in the feelings it sparks and the experiences it shapes. That’s why rituals, like how a customer is greeted, the language used in service messages, or the onboarding steps in an app, matter deeply. They create coherence, familiarity, and ultimately trust.
These sensory and behavioural cues shape the emotional architecture of a brand. AI can analyse them, predict outcomes -without any disruptive suggestions-, and personalise journeys.
The deeper emotional blueprint remains inherently human. It’s built on consistency, meaning, and soul.
Data as Fuel, Humanity as Driver
The customer journey has been irrevocably altered by AI. Predictive analytics can anticipate needs. Natural language processing enables 24/7 conversations. AI tools can automate support, personal shopping and loyalty campaigns. But all this automation risks feeling sterile unless grounded in intentional human design.
Across sectors, the same pattern emerges. Luxury brands like Estée Lauder and L’Oréal deploy AI and augmented reality to enhance service. Virtual try-ons, emotion-sensitive chatbots, and personalised skincare routines elevate the customer experience. But at every step, there’s a human in the loop: defining boundaries, shaping tone, and handling exceptions. Without this oversight, automation becomes awkward, impersonal or even creepy.
Ultimately, the best customer journeys are not the fastest or most efficient, they’re the most memorable.
They make us feel seen. And AI, when guided wisely, can support that beautifully.
Facts, Feelings and AI
We’ve moved from brand monologues to brand dialogues. No longer is it enough to just tell a story. Brands must now build them, collaboratively, transparently, and grounded in fact. Does this sound familiar?
This shift is more than semantic. It represents a philosophical evolution in branding. AI can help build the scaffolding, but the essence of the narrative remains human.
Take the Post-Industrial Institute –PII-. Originally rooted in “post-lean” frameworks, the organisation has pivoted toward a more nuanced, holistic post-industrial outlook. To do this, it relied on AI to test scenarios, model responses and refine messaging.
Yet in the case of the PRI, it was human introspection and collaborative vision that articulated the change in narrative, redefined purpose and translated those changes into meaningful communications.
“It is about building stories, not telling them. To build, one needs a plan, a foundation, materials.” Taken from an article I wrote for Branders Magazine
Add sincerity to that mix, and you’ve got the ingredients for narrative resonance. That’s why story-building must be a joint effort between AI and humans.
Data may suggest what matters, but only people understand why it matters.
From Mascots to Meaning
- Liquid Agency created a digital mascot with GenAI. But the real triumph was the emotional resonance. The mascot’s role, tone and symbolic function were all curated by people. It wasn’t about efficiency, it was about meaning. In Allegro 234, we also have our avatar, Gia Bellini, to present AIR and our Knowledge Pills
- Komoneed, an online platform of pragmatic sustainability, pairs AI-enabled operations with green values. Servers use clean energy. Brand partners are value-aligned. Content is generated with purpose, not just for engagement.
- Estée Lauder’s AI Skincare Advisor personalises routines based on user inputs, but uses brand-appropriate language and visuals to sustain emotional fidelity.
The Human Touch is the Brand Touch
AI isn’t going away. And it shouldn’t. Its power to analyse, generate and scale makes it invaluable. But it’s not a substitute for brand strategy.
AI is a booster. A catalyst. A highly intelligent assistant in need of human leadership.
The most future-proof brands will not be the ones that outsource identity to machines. They will be the ones that balance efficiency with empathy, that design rituals and symbols, and build stories that AI can amplify, but never invent.
So yes, embrace AI. Use it to stretch your imagination, refine your processes, and delight your customers. But keep in mind that brand relevance is based on emotional clarity, strategic intent and lived experience. It’s not something that can be automated. And honestly, would you really want to?
Images
- Pachon in Motion, Pexels
- Estée Lauder image from Michiyo Yagisawa
