What Every Brand Gets Wrong About Using AI
Fast, scalable AI-powered marketing can boost efficiency, but when brands sacrifice empathy for speed, they lose trust. Here's how to drive loyalty in the age of automation.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Artificial intelligence has definitely changed how we do business, for the better in many ways. Chatbots that reply in seconds, algorithms tracking your behavior so you can instantly get what you want and automation handling routine tasks faster than any human team ever could.
But just because it's fast doesn't mean it feels good.
Efficiency is great, but I've seen too many businesses losing the human element that actually builds trust and loyalty. If your digital experience feels robotic, scripted or cold, people won't stick around, no matter how "optimized" it is.
At some point, tech needs a heartbeat behind it. Otherwise, all you're doing is automating disconnection.
Related: How to Scale a Marketing Strategy That Works
When automation goes too far
Yes, automation is powerful. It keeps things running. Chatbots answer questions 24/7, tools auto-schedule content and systems track customer behavior. But let's not ignore the downside.
Sure, 51% of consumers prefer interacting with bots over humans when they want immediate service. But what if they don't? What happens when customers get frustrated from waiting or having to repeat themselves?
Think about the entire experience. When every interaction feels automated, customers begin to question whether anyone is really paying attention. Bots can't read the room. They can't hear tone, detect frustration or understand nuance. So, while automation helps scale, it often kills connection if you rely on it too much.
Your chatbot can still handle basic questions, but when things get tricky, a handoff to a human rep makes all the difference. Most people aren't expecting perfection. They're looking for effort, care and responsiveness. When that's missing, the tech isn't helping — it's hurting.
Personalization is now a necessity, not a mere desire
Personalization is now a basic expectation, but it can't be all AI.
In 2024, Forbes surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers for their State of Customer Service and CX Study and found that 81% of customers prefer companies that offer a personalized experience, and they expect this personal touch across the platforms they use, not just in-store or over email.
No surprise there — it confirms what we already know about personalization. Customers want fast, relevant and thoughtful service that feels made for them. But here's where brands get it wrong:
They use AI to automate "personalization" based on click behavior, email opens or CRM tags — and stop there. The result? Generic messages dressed up in personalization tags. "Hi [FirstName]" isn't what people mean by thoughtful.
Yes, AI helps scale insight. But real personalization comes from real-time awareness, in those moments that can't be predicted. Knowing that a customer just called support five minutes ago changes how you respond to their next email. This isn't something AI alone can deliver. It takes judgment, context and care.
Let your team go off-book when it serves the customer. That's what humanizing your strategy means: efficient, but never robotic. Because personalization shouldn't feel predictive, it should feel considered. AI might tee it up, but humans close the loop.
Related: 5 Innovative Ways to Give Your Customers the Personalized Experiences They Want
Do what the algorithm can't
Speed, data and automation can open the door, but connection keeps people coming back.
Ask real questions
The comments section is the closest thing you've got to a real-time focus group. It keeps your blind spots in check.
Ask what your customers are struggling with, what they want to see more of and what's missing. They'll tell you when something's off. If you're paying attention, you can adjust before it becomes a bigger issue.
Reward frontline feedback
Your best insights aren't in your dashboards. Want to improve a feature? Ask the person fielding complaints about it. Want to write better copy? Talk to the person who knows the objections your customers keep bringing up.
Build a process where frontline teams can flag patterns, share feedback and influence decisions. When your team sees that their input shapes the brand, they become more invested. And when customers see that their voice actually leads to improvements, they trust you more.
Lead with your story
Sprout Social reports that for 86% of consumers, authenticity is a major factor in choosing which brands to support. That's why storytelling — especially the messy, honest kind — builds trust faster than any email sequence ever could.
It doesn't have to be dramatic or polished. Some of the most powerful brand moments come from raw, unscripted content: a phone-shot video, a glimpse of what went wrong behind the scenes, a quick peek at how you build your product.
The truth is, customers don't just want to be sold to — they want to be in a relationship with the brands they buy from. Seeing real people doing real work is what turns that relationship from transactional to emotional.
Related: How Brands Can Embrace Authenticity in a World Craving Transparency
People first, always
AI is here to stay, and that's not a bad thing. Use automation. Streamline. But remember, the brands that will truly thrive are the ones that know how to scale connection, not just automation.
The future of digital isn't less human. It's more intentional.
Next time you build a marketing campaign, send an email or respond to a comment, ask yourself: Does this sound human? Or just efficient?
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