If AI is gonna represent your brand, it’d better do it believably.

Artificial intelligence is becoming the new front line of customer interaction.

Brands are giving AI assistants names, personalities and friendly faces, hoping they’ll answer questions, recommend products and deepen relationships.

That’s a fairly smart direction …

… Until the AI starts pretending to have experiences it could never have.

Imagine asking KFC‘s new virtual Colonel, “What’s your favourite thing on the menu?”

If it replies, “I love the hot honey and habanero. It combines a sticky, sweet honey sweetness with a sharp, garlicky habanero pepper kick,” something feels way off.

The AI hasn’t tasted a single piece of chicken, and the real Colonel never couldn’t have tried that new product in his lifetime.

We know AI has no palate, no appetite and no memories of family dinners around a bucket.

BUT, oddly enough, admitting that could make it far more likeable.

Imagine instead if it replied:

“Hell, I wish I could taste it. Don’t you see, our chefs have worked their fingers to the bone perfecting the new recipe, and I’d be happy to tell you why customers keep comin‘ back for it.”

That answer is both honest and persuasive, and in the Colonel’s style of talking.

It reinforces the brand’s expertise without pretending to possess human experiences.

As companies race to humanize AI, authenticity is becoming part of the brand experience.

Customers are insanely good at spotting manufactured sincerity, and trust is difficult to rebuild once it’s lost.

The best AI brand ambassadors won’t go too far trying to imitate people.

They’ll become memorable for what they uniquely are: knowledgeable, transparent, available 24 hours a day, AND comfortable admitting where the human experience takes over.

The more believable your AI becomes, the more important honesty gets.

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.