Let’s get one thing straight: AI in business can be so incredible useful!

It can help you brainstorm ideas, organise messy notes, draft first-pass content, summarise research, plan campaigns, write email variations and speed up the boring parts of marketing.

It’s a bit of a game changer, but there’s one small catch.

When everyone is using the same AI tools, in the same lazy way, everything kind of… starts to sound and look the same. You can even see it from a mile away when people have sort of done a one-pass prompt and hit publish.

This is the real risk for AI in small business, and in this article, we’ll unpack some of these elements and how to properly use AI to accelerate parts of your biz.

AI Is a Tool, Not a Personality

Businesses (or, heck, people in general) that use AI well are not handing over their entire voice.

They are not using it to copy and paste employees, nor are they using it to remove entire parts of their job. They are using it as a tool to support, speed up or enhance their work.

Some examples where you might use it as a tool include:

• turn rough ideas into a cleaner structure
• find gaps in a piece of content, or map out some initial content structure
• repurpose one strong idea into several formats, or generate more ideas from it
• Create initial design concepts from an idea
• Speed up admin-heavy data processing jobs or reporting

This a very short list of its potential as a tool, but it gives you some idea here.

It becomes a problem, though, when we stop using it as a tool and start using it to replace our work completely.

This is worse if your brand foundations are already vague or not clear. Because if we start using it to produce design content, AI can make it appear more vague or just more generic.

That is why brand strategy still matters. If you have not clarified who you serve, what you stand for and how you want to be perceived, start there before asking AI to write fifty social posts. For more on this, read Branding for Wellness Businesses: Why a Logo Is Not Enough.

What AI Slop Looks Like

AI slop falls into many categories, but for the context of using it for branding or design, it often looks super over-polished, generic, or just cluttered and gross.

AI Slop is usually generated when we don’t prompt AI well, or we do one pass and then post the content without reviewing, re-prompting, or trying again.

If you’re not good at spotting it, some classic giveaways include:

• broad statements that could apply to any business
• Similar font style, and brush stroke like content objects
• overused phrases like “unlock your potential” or “elevate your brand”
• Heaps of text or clutter mashed into one design, with no clear hierarchy

Spotting AI Slop does matter because the internet is already filling up with AI-assisted content. A recent Pangram analysis of social content found a high volume of AI-generated long-form posts across major platforms, especially LinkedIn (Pangram, 2026).

AI detection is not perfect, but the broader trend is showing us that readers are becoming sensitive to content that feels low-value or low-effort.

Google’s own guidance is also clear that content should be helpful, reliable and people-first, regardless of whether AI helped create it (Google Search Central, n.d.).

Use AI Earlier in the Process

One of the best ways to avoid generic AI content, or creating AI Slop, is to stop using it when we’re in the final polish stage.

Always use it in the earlier concept stage, when you’re really just formulating or generating ideas.

You may even choose to ask it to check something before you publish, but be mindful that final human checking is always just as important.

You may use AI to turn messy client FAQ lists into blog topics or create rough article outlines from your own notes.

These are some good use case examples of how you can use AI, but keep your ideas at the centre.

If you are briefing someone else to help with content, design or marketing, the same principle applies: the better the input, the better the output. This is very similar to writing a good creative brief. You can read more in How to Brief a Graphic Designer Without Overcomplicating It.

Keep a Human Edit in the Middle

Do not go straight from prompt to publish; this is where people get it wrong.

The output quality comes in the thorough edit and review process.

Before you publish AI-generated content, ask yourself a few questions:

• Does this sound like us or reflect our brand well?
• Are there any AI-looking errors? Is our logo actually our logo?
• Could a competitor publish the same thing unchanged?
• Is what I’ve produced too cluttered, long or generic?
• Are any claims too strong or unsupported?
• Is the language clearer than when we started?

I have seen so many AI-generated posts that, when you look closely, is filled with jumbled wording, or the logo is even incorrect. This happens when there is minimal checking or human edit passes.

I’ll be honest, I have used AI for content; heck, I’ve used it many times to map out ideas for these blog posts. Of course, it also comes with thorough checking, and the layout is almost completely changed or reworded before posting.

Build a Simple Brand Voice Guide

If you want AI to sound more like you, and less generic, give it guardrails or very specific brand guidelines.

Most AI models have rules and instructions, so fill it with as much detail as possible, including:

• who the target audience is and what they care about
• what your business does and does not say
• Logos, assets, promotional schedules (if applicable) and other related copy.
• preferred words and phrases, and ones to avoid!
• examples of good previous writing and writing styles
• the level of warmth, authority or technical detail you want

Don’t complicate it, but honestly, if you spend more time on it, you’ll get better output.

That kind of direction gives AI something to work with. It also gives the human editor a standard to judge against.

Where I Find AI Works Best

If you really want to use AI to optimise your workflow, you can eliminate repeatable work with it.

Below are some use cases i’ve found to be very beneficial, and to speed up a lot of my processes, while still allowing time to review and check.

• drafting product descriptions from accurate product notes or copy.
• turning blog posts into email newsletters or social captions.
• Giving me alternative headlines or specific keywords based on internet trend
• building FAQ sections from real customer questions
• planning content calendars and base content (Meaning backgrounds or initial ideas)
• cleaning up rough internal notes or heck, summarising my to-do list from my emails! (Game changer!)

Your positioning, visual identity, website hierarchy, packaging decisions and brand story still need human direction though. AI can assist, but it should not decide what your business stands for.

That is especially true for customer-facing design. Your brand still needs to feel deliberate, not assembled from whatever was fastest. Related: Packaging Design: How to Make Products Easier to Notice, Understand and Trust and Graphic Design File Formats: What Clients Should Expect at the End of a Project.

If you are looking to create packaging or labels for your next product, do not use AI. You will come across barriers more than I can outline here, instead, reach out for a FREE quote or discussion with me.

What I Am Using Across AI Platforms

I’d love to share briefly what I’ve been using and found most useful.

Of course, it really depends on the model inside the platform and how you use it, but I’ll share what I’ve been leaning on most and some I’m considering.

ChatGPT – I am still using this, but will usually only use High or Pro models to ensure I’m getting output quality. ChatGPT is the OG, and I do like it for its agent function as well. Not going to lie, I have about 7-8 agents for different things!

Manus AI – Owned by Meta, this one is extremely useful and comprehensive. I recommend using the Max model for best results, but it does also churn through Credits. This one can add up and be expensive depending on how often you use it.

Claude (considering) – I hear great things about Claude, but I’m hesitant to run multiple platforms and get lost in the AI noise, so I have not trialled this yet.

Suno – The best AI music generator out there. I use it for my AI Band – Genesis AI. This is a fun project of mine, and some of the music I’ve made is just so good. If you’re into Christian Rock, please give it a listen and follow; every bit helps!

These are the main ones i’m using right now. Of course, I’m all about the human work too, but AI just helps speed so many processes up.

If you ever need help with using AI as a tool for your business, this is something I can help you with too. Please just reach out.

References

Google Search Central. (n.d.). Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content

Google Search Central. (2023). Google Search’s guidance about AI-generated content. https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/02/google-search-and-ai-content

McKinsey & Company. (2025). The state of AI: Global survey. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai

Pangram. (2026). AI content is everywhere on social media, especially LinkedIn. https://www.pangram.com/blog/ai-in-your-feed