Your Voice Is Your Brand’s Superpower in the Age of AI
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
Original, human-written thought leadership stands out and can spotlight you.
AI entered the mainstream at the end of 2022, and since then, it has transformed nearly everything it touches. While it is a powerful tool for increasing efficiency, synthesizing information, and generating ideas, there is one area where AI’s presence is undoubtedly unwanted: thought leadership.
Journalists, media outlets, and publishers are adopting strict anti-AI policies for pitching and publishing content. But for those with expertise or a compelling story, this is a competitive advantage and a chance to use your voice in a time when it’s needed more than ever.
Your experience is valuable
While AI can spout facts and procedures, you can speak to real-life experience, and that kind of hard-won wisdom is invaluable. In both life and business, there are certain lessons we can only learn firsthand or from those who have walked the path.
When you share those experiences, it reflects your keen instincts and refined judgment. As a result, you become more trustworthy, and your business name carries more weight.
When I first launched my business, the only people who trusted me were the friends and acquaintances in my network. But as my reputation grew, more people were willing to give me a chance. I’ve seen firsthand how thought leadership pieces that spoke to my unique experiences, and especially my mistakes, allowed me to cultivate trust with a brand-new audience.
We are hungry for connection
There is no getting around it: We live in a highly virtual world. While we increasingly conduct tasks in partnership with algorithms, robots, and AI, clients and consumers still prefer to do business with people. When you’re stuck at the airport with a canceled flight, or there is a mysterious charge on your credit card, you want to speak with a person, not a machine prompting you to press zero for the real-life operator on the other end.
People don’t necessarily care about how the sausage is made, but they do care about who is making the sausage. Thought leadership pieces help audiences understand your values and what matters to you and your organization. When values align, future clients will choose to do business with you over your competitors.
Consumers understand that many products and services will use AI in the future, which is why knowing the people behind the brand is more important than ever. You have the power to create connections through thought leadership, and it’s those connections that drive consumer decisions.
Thought leadership attracts aligned clients.
Whether it’s a TED Talk, a New York Times op-ed, or a recurring article for an online publication like Inc., thought leadership pieces essentially synthesize your lessons learned into bite-sized chunks that your ideal audience can benefit from.
While AI is good for research and brainstorming, it cannot provide you with lived experience. Only you can derive the lessons, distill the main takeaway, and create calls to action that inspire your potential clients.
While it may sound like a heavy lift, it’s well worth it when you find that the clients you gain from thought leadership pieces are as good as gold. When they learn from you, they already understand your approach and come to your door as believers, meaning the sales and closing process is incredibly efficient.
Check all the marketing boxes
More and more people are using AI platforms as their search engines, underscoring the importance of prioritizing generative engine optimization (GEO) alongside SEO in your marketing strategy. If you are not familiar, GEO focuses on creating content that is easily understood, cited, and summarized by AI search engines and platforms.
One of the best parts of providing quotes and thought leadership commentary in news outlets is that you get to have your cake and eat it, too. Not only are you getting all the perks listed above, but you also get all the benefits of creating content that is SEO and GEO-friendly. Like traditional SEO, optimizing your content for AI is a multi-pronged approach. I shared in an Inc. article, “7 Ways Marketers Are Optimizing Their SEO Strategy for AI,” that local news coverage has had a significant impact on my clients. What used to be discarded as too small a placement—from, say, a local paper or publication—is now an extremely important earned media win in a client’s GEO strategy.
Keep in mind that whether it’s a search engine or a person, human-written content is always preferred and prioritized over AI-generated content. While AI is a powerful tool for outlining and research, the payoff of putting fingers to the keyboard with thought leadership is worth the work.
Honest and human-written thought leadership pieces are like the first blooms of spring in a barren winter landscape. They create a chance for new audiences to find, hear, and appreciate your experiences and expertise. Sure, AI is creating waves with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities right now, but don’t let that overshadow the unique and unmatched storytelling and commentary that only you can bring to the table.
