There used by to be a saying, “You have to fake it to make it”

There’s something really interesting happening right now with branding, marketing, and the way people interact with businesses online. They are all faking it…. and I am not here for it!

For the first time in a long time, I think consumers are starting to question everything. I know I am. We are bombarded with ads that look and sound really real….but more and more I am getting the feeling that it is all pretty fake. Not sure people pretending to be something they are not…but actual fake people. 100% completely AI.

I know I’ve started looking at businesses completely differently. My first thought isn’t automatically “Do I like this?” anymore. It’s “Is this even real?” And honestly, the second that doubt creeps in, I back out. I click away from the website. I lose interest. Something in me stops trusting what I’m seeing.

That’s the shift businesses need to pay attention to.

We’re surrounded by content that is becoming harder and harder to verify as human. AI-generated photos. AI-written captions. AI voices. AI influencers. Videos that look authentic, but are carefully engineered to imitate authenticity. Entire brand identities built around appearing relatable while barely involving a real human being at all. Worse yet… they really aren’t too hard to make. I imagine there are whole apps out there ready to give you a really slick on line presence.. and quick.

And what’s fascinating is that consumers are starting to feel it instinctively. They see ads looking the same..writing sounding the same…. it is honestly a bit scary.

It’s hard to explain, but AI content often has this strange shimmer to it. Everything is just slightly too polished. Too optimized. Too perfect. The expressions look almost real. The words sound almost human. The emotions are there, but somehow not fully lived-in. Your brain notices it before you consciously do.

It’s like the hairs on the back of your neck standing up saying, “I don’t know if I trust this.”

That feeling matters more than businesses realize.

Because trust has always been emotional before it was logical. We have all met a person we just didn’t quick trust what they were saying…and all of our instincts say RUN! I believe we are about to see the rise of “human Made”… it is will be important. Don’t get me wrong..I actually love AI for some things …. but balance what is helpful and what is removing the very soul of your brand.

People don’t carefully analyze whether something feels authentic. They feel it instantly. Either something feels grounded and human, or it feels manufactured. And once people begin questioning what’s real online, it becomes incredibly difficult to earn their confidence back.

Even now, brands are trying to recreate authenticity in strategic ways. Videos are intentionally made to look casual. Ads are filmed in podcast formats to feel conversational. Influencer content is designed to appear spontaneous and unscripted. But sometimes even those efforts feel engineered. Like authenticity is being performed instead of lived.

And consumers are getting smarter about recognizing the difference.

I think this is going to affect every industry, including photography and personal branding. It’s incredibly easy now to upload a headshot and let AI perfect it. Clear the skin. Reshape the face. Adjust the lighting. Create a polished version of yourself that looks flawless in seconds. You don’t even have to iron your jacket…. but it’s fake…

But I honestly think we’re approaching a point where overly perfected imagery may start creating distrust instead of credibility.

Because real humans don’t look algorithmically perfect.

The irony is that in trying so hard to appear professional, polished, and optimized, some brands are accidentally making themselves feel less believable and I think we’re eventually going to see businesses swing hard in the opposite direction. Not because authenticity is trendy, but because people are going to crave proof of humanity. In a very global world we are doing business with people around the world that we never met… I don’t know about you, but I really want to trust that when I order something or hire someone they are not scamming me out of my money.

Consumers want proof there’s a real person behind the business. Proof the experiences are genuine. Proof the company actually exists beyond curated marketing.

The brands that stand out in the future probably won’t be the slickest ones. They’ll be the ones willing to feel human again.

The brands willing to show the real laugh.
The imperfect moment.
The unscripted video.
The actual workspace.
The founder speaking in their own voice instead of sounding like generated marketing copy. (which is honestly really creepy to me!)
The consistency of showing up honestly over time instead of endlessly polishing every detail into something artificial.

That doesn’t mean AI is bad. AI can absolutely be a helpful tool. It can help businesses brainstorm, organize ideas, improve efficiency, and save time. But there’s a difference between using AI to support your business and letting it completely replace your voice, your perspective, and your humanity.

Because people don’t build loyalty with perfection. They build loyalty with connection. And I honestly think we’re entering a new era where trust will become one of the most valuable things a brand can have. Not polish.Not optimization.Not perfectly curated content.

But Trust.

In a world increasingly filled with artificial content, being unmistakably human may become the thing that makes people choose you.

So I hope as you are thinking about how to show up on line that you consider doing it the old fashioned way… in my mind the better way… take some time, get dressed up (at least the waist up), site you tail down in front of a camera, and smile that REAL million dollar smile! I used to love the saying, “ you have to fake it to make it.”… I really did. But now I believe you have to be you to make it!