Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Meg Casebolt and Jessica Lackey on the Aggressively Human podcast to talk about one of the biggest challenges facing marketers today: the deterioration of customer trust.

I’ve spent my career helping B2B tech companies communicate complex ideas in a way that connects with their audiences. And over the past few years, I’ve studied AI’s role in communication at a scholarly level, earning my master’s degree in the subject. One thing is clear: AI is reshaping content.

During this conversation, we explored how exactly AI is affecting trust, why so much content feels the same, and how businesses can be more intentional in their approach to using this technology.

Here are five key moments from our discussion:

1. The replicant effect

One of the biggest insights from my research is something called the replicant effect. When AI-generated and human-created content exist side by side — on the same platform, in the same marketing ecosystem — people trust all of the content less. Even if a blog post or email is written entirely by a person, its credibility suffers simply because AI-generated content exists in the mix. That has major implications for brands using AI to scale their content production.

2. The rise of language homogeny

AI has a way of flattening out the nuance of human communication. It creates what scholars call language homogeny — where everything sounds the same. If you’ve noticed that most LinkedIn posts or cold emails feel like they were written by the same person, this is why. The result is that people tune it out. And when your content looks and feels like everyone else’s, it loses its ability to connect and persuade.

3. Who gets the human touch?

One of the most fascinating (and frustrating) trends I’ve seen in tech startups is how they divide AI-generated and human-written content. Founders and executives (or ghostwriters on their behalf) often write their own thought leadership for their personal and professional audiences. But when it comes to their customers — the people actually deciding whether or not to buy the company’s solution — AI-generated content dominates. That raises a tough question: Why do personal audiences deserve human-written content while customers get the AI-generated version? If trust and relationships matter, shouldn’t the most important content be created by humans?

4. AI should support writing, not replace it

I’m not anti-AI. I use AI tools daily to brainstorm, refine analogies, and check grammar. But I never let AI write a first draft. When writing starts with a human, it retains something essential — the human soul. If AI enters the process too early, it’s much harder to add soul in at the end.

5. The real cost of dissonant content

Over the past year, I’ve watched marketing teams shrink as executives push for more automation. But there’s a hidden cost to inserting robo-content into the customer experience. A single inauthentic touchpoint — a generic email, a robotic social post — creates friction in the customer journey. It gives people a reason to pause and ask, Do I really trust this company? That one small moment of doubt can mean the difference between a sale and a lost opportunity.

Where do we go from here?

AI is here to stay. But if businesses want to build real trust with their audience, they need to be thoughtful about how they use it. That means making intentional choices about where AI fits in the content process — and ensuring that customers, not just personal audiences, get content that feels authentic and meaningful.

Listen to the full episode here.