Before you rush off to automate your brand entirely, let’s cover a few best practices and potential pitfalls when using AI in branding:
1. Maintain Human Oversight: AI is powerful, but it’s not infallible. Always review content and designs that AI produces. Ensure they align with your true brand values and messaging. Authenticity is key in branding, and you are the guardian of that authenticity. Use AI’s suggestions as a draft, not the final say. For instance, if ChatGPT writes a blog post for you, read it and tweak it to include genuine anecdotes or company insights – things an AI wouldn’t know. If Midjourney creates an image, make sure it doesn’t accidentally include distorted text or strange details (sometimes AI images have quirks like garbled text or an extra finger on a hand). Fix those or use another image.
2. Feed the AI the Right Information: The output is only as good as the input. When using ChatGPT, provide context. When using Midjourney, be descriptive. If you have a defined brand guide (keywords, values, adjectives), use it in your prompts. For example, tell ChatGPT “Our brand voice is upbeat, jargon-free, and empowering. Now write an introduction to our webinar.” This will drastically improve relevance. Similarly, train any AI tools that allow it with your existing content. Some AIs let you upload writing samples or connect your social accounts so it learns your style. That can make a big difference in getting on-brand output.
3. Consistency vs. Uniqueness: One challenge could be if many brands use the same AI tools, will everything start looking/sounding the same? It’s possible if everyone uses default prompts. The way to avoid this is to infuse your brand’s unique perspective into the AI’s work. For copy, add specifics that only you have (unique value propositions, personal stories). For images, perhaps use AI to create elements but combine them in unique ways. Also, don’t rely on AI for everything. Your human touch, creativity, and sometimes deliberately doing something different or quirky will set you apart from more formulaic AI-generated content. Think of AI as assisting your creativity, not replacing it. As an example, an AI might give a very polished but safe slogan; you might decide to break grammar rules or use a pun because you know your audience would love it – even if AI wouldn’t have generated it. Use AI to handle the heavy lifting, then add your brand’s flair.
4. Ethics and Transparency: Be mindful of how you deploy AI. If you’re using AI-generated art, consider being transparent about it, especially if asked. Plagiarism and intellectual property issues can arise – AI sometimes inadvertently “learns” from copyrighted content. For instance, an AI might spit out a tagline that happens to be trademarked by someone else because it saw it in training data. Do a quick check (Google the phrase, etc.) to avoid legal snafus. For images, as mentioned, use the outputs within the license terms. Some brands also worry about a backlash (“This company uses robots for everything!”). Generally, consumers care most about the result – if your content is valuable and engaging, they won’t mind (or even know) that AI helped create it. But avoid using AI in ways that are deceptive or that violate trust. For example, don’t have an AI impersonate a human for customer interactions without disclosure. If you use a chatbot for customer service (even a very advanced one), let users know they’re chatting with a bot. Honesty upholds your brand integrity.
5. Stay Updated and Evolve: AI tools are evolving at breakneck speed. The capabilities you have today might look basic in a year. Keep an eye on new features – many tools are adding brand-specific functionalities because they know businesses need them. For instance, OpenAI (makers of ChatGPT) are working on allowing custom models or plugins that could let you integrate your brand data more directly. Adobe is integrating AI into its suite (Adobe Firefly, etc.) which could be great for brand design with brand-safe outputs. Make it a point to review your AI stack periodically and see if there are upgrades that could benefit your brand. On the flip side, sometimes AI tools change policies or pricing, or certain techniques might not work forever (like if an AI stops allowing certain styles due to copyright concerns). So have a flexible approach and don’t become over-reliant on one tool. Build skills that you can transfer (like the skill of crafting good prompts – “prompt engineering” – which will serve you across tools).
6. Measure Impact: Finally, treat your use of AI like any other investment. Track if it’s actually improving your branding outcomes. Are you creating more content and is it landing well? Are engagement or conversions up? Are you saving time or money? By tracking, you can ensure that using AI is yielding a positive ROI for your brand. In most cases, it will – often dramatically (imagine slashing content creation time by 50% or more) – but it’s good to have those numbers to justify continuing and to identify where AI helps most.