Is AI Quietly Rewriting Your Brand?

In a world where AI and brand authenticity are increasingly intertwined, businesses are producing more content than ever — but often at the cost of their most valuable asset: their story. As Nick Usborne explains in this week’s episode of Stories and Strategies, AI can accelerate creativity, but it can also erode the very thing that makes a brand memorable if it’s used without intention.

Why Story Still Matters More Than Speed

Nick Usborne — a veteran storyteller who has shaped messaging for Apple, Citibank, and The New York Times — argues that AI’s greatest threat to brand identity is its ability to make everyone sound the same. When companies mass-produce content with generic prompts, they risk falling into what he calls the sameness trap: the moment your voice becomes indistinguishable from your competitors.

Your story is your moat. Competitors can steal your tagline, your tone, even mimic your visuals — but they can’t steal the founder who started in a garage, the lived experience behind your values, or the hard-earned credibility your customers trust. That’s why AI and brand authenticity must always be managed with human oversight.

The Rise of Brand Drift in the AI Era

With content creation now faster than ever, Nick warns of a growing problem: brand drift. It happens when companies lean too heavily on AI and lose sight of the deeply human elements that originally shaped their brand identity.

When your story is missing from your prompts, AI defaults to generic language trained on everyone else’s content. The result? A brand voice that becomes hollow, predictable, and painfully replaceable.

As Farzana Baduel puts it, we’re swimming in a “tsunami of AI-generated content.” Productivity gains are real — but so is the erosion of authenticity. To protect AI and brand authenticity, companies must be intentional: define their story, articulate their narrative, and safeguard their voice.

AI as a Creative Partner, Not a Replacement

Despite the risks, Nick doesn’t see AI as the enemy. In fact, he sees a huge creative opportunity — but only if humans stay in the loop. AI becomes powerful when it acts as a sparring partner, helping writers, marketers, and communicators explore new ideas rather than simply generating finished content.

Human experience, vulnerability, and transparency remain irreplaceable. When misinformation or misframing threatens your brand story, the antidote isn’t silence — it’s radical honesty. Own your flaws. Share the “purple-blue,” not the artificial version someone else paints.

Because in a noisy world, authenticity isn’t just a differentiator…
It’s survival.