7 AI mistakes that are hurting your brand (and how to fix them)

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Remember when everyone said "content is king"? Now it seems like "AI-generated content is king" - but a lot of it feels bland and impersonal. As someone who works with mission-driven companies every day, I've seen how AI tools can either improve your content strategy or completely derail it.

AI can be a powerful ally in your content creation process, but only when you know how to use it strategically.

In this article, we explore the seven most common mistakes business owners make when using AI for content creation - and more importantly, how to avoid them.

1. Publishing original content in a generic voice and style

Have you noticed how many blog posts sound similar these days? There's a reason for that. While AI can write grammatically correct content, it often defaults to a bland, middle-of-the-road tone that could belong to anyone - or no one.

Your brand voice is one of your most valuable assets: it’s how you create a real connection with your audience. When you publish AI-generated content without properly customising it to match your voice, you're essentially hiding your brand behind a mask.

How to fix this:

• Create a brand voice guide before using AI; use specific examples from your own content as reference points. Or even better: upload examples of your best writing into your project knowledge.

• Treat AI output as a first draft that needs your unique perspective: review the output to include personal anecdotes and insights that only you can provide.

• Some AI tools are well-known for overusing certain phrases or words (e.g. “unlock”, “unleash”, “it’s not just X, it’s Y”); one famous example is the famous m-dash (without a space—like this). And while there’s nothing wrong with using m-dashes if you already used them before, you might take a headcount (you don’t need one in every single sentence). Also: while m-dashes are common in the US, we’d use n-dashes with spaces in the UK and Europe - like this. If you start using m-dashes while you never did before, your followers will notice.

Note: some try to mitigate this issue by running content through an “AI detector”. Sadly, most AI-detectors have been proven to simply not work, marking original (human-written) content as AI-generated and vice versa.

2. Misunderstanding AI's limitations

Let's say you run a sustainable fashion brand. You ask AI to write about "organic materials," and it produces an article about organic chemistry instead of eco-friendly fabrics. This happens because AI doesn't truly understand context; it matches patterns in data.

In other words: when AI misinterprets context, it can produce content that's technically correct but completely misses the mark for your audience's needs and interests.

How to fix this:

• Provide explicit context in your prompts

• Include relevant industry-specific terms or (research-based) keywords to include

• Specify your target audience and their level of expertise

• Review content for accuracy before publishing

3. Using plagiarised materials

AI can sometimes reproduce existing content too closely, creating potential copyright issues. While AI models are trained to generate original content, they may occasionally output phrases or passages that closely mirror existing text.

Publishing plagiarised content, even unintentionally, can damage your reputation (especially if it turns out the content you published was originally written by someone you know personally!) and potentially lead to legal issues.

How to fix this:

• Run AI-generated content through plagiarism detection tools

• Add your own original examples and insights, and make sure you rewrite content to really sound like you

4. Overlooking bias and ethical considerations

AI models are trained on internet data, which means they can incorporate and perpetuate existing biases. This is particularly problematic when you’re a mission-driven company or organisation - your content needs to align with your values and mission, and it’s cringing when your AI output is off-brand or sometimes even slightly offensive.

How to fix this:

• Always fact-check and copy-edit your AI input

• Review content for inclusive language, making sure the terminology aligns with current best practices

• If you notice your AI output is biased, remedy this in your prompt or even in your style guide: include words and terminology (not) to use

5. Rushing through prompts

In the rush to create content quickly, many business owners throw vague prompts at AI and hope for the best. But these aren’t going to get you the focused, valuable content your audience deserves.

The quality of your AI-generated content directly correlates with the quality of your prompts. Vague inputs lead to vague outputs. Or as they often say: “garbage in, garbage out”.

How to fix this:

• Develop detailed prompt templates for recurring work - that way, when you need something from AI, all you need for a quality prompt is simply filling in the blanks

• Include specific parameters in your prompts (tone, length, audience, purpose)

• Provide relevant examples as part of your prompt

• Break complex topics into smaller, focused prompts

6. Skipping fact-checking

One of the most dangerous assumptions about AI is that it's always accurate. AI can seem very confident when it presents you with incorrect information! And while some AI tools will tell you when they don’t know something or are making things up as they go, others will simply invent an answer to your question.

I don’t need to tell you that publishing inaccurate information can have serious consequences.

How to fix this:

Verify all statistics, data, and industry-specific claims. Make sure each data point refers to a reliable source. If you’re writing online content, always add links to the source; it helps to grow the readers’ trust in your content and boosts your authority. And, ironically, search engines and LLMs are more likely to trust your content (and share it with more people) if you include high-value sources.

In some cases, your AI tool can provide you with sources for the information they included; always check out those sources, make sure they refer to real and relevant websites.

7. Treating AI output as final copy

Perhaps the biggest mistake people make is treating AI-generated content as ready to publish. AI should be your first draft writer, not your editor or final authority. Raw AI content lacks the personal insights, real-world examples, and authentic voice that make content truly valuable to your audience.

How to fix it:

• Add your personal experiences and insights to AI output, incorporating your brand’s unique perspective

• Include relevant case studies and examples

• Link to credible sources and research

How to use AI strategically

The solution isn't to abandon AI - it's to use it more strategically. Think of AI as a talented intern: eager to help but needing clear direction and oversight.

When used correctly, AI can:

• Speed up your first draft process

• Generate creative outlines and ideas

• Help overcome writer's block

• Handle basic research tasks

Like any intern, AI needs expert guidance and supervision. And while many solo business owners want to create their own content and could do it (really well) if they just had more time, the results just aren’t there.

If that’s you, ask yourself - What if you could invest that time in growing other aspects of your business while ensuring your content consistently hits the mark?

We help mission-driven entrepreneurs and organisations build a relationship with their followers while maintaining their authentic voice. Ready to explore how we can help you create content and communications that truly resonates with your audience?