Nhu nguyen

The Shift

A week ago, I opened my mailbox and found an email from a website developer agency with the subject line: “Unlock Your Website Potential with Our Revolutionary System!”. I was curious to click in, and the email began:

“Dear Subscriber,
Are you ready to take control of your website and experience the next level of SEO to make your website outstanding in the market? Introducing our (Brandname) System, a breakthrough blend of AI and customized design to optimize traffic to your page. Click to peak performance today!”

It was polished and formatted. Packed with all the needed keywords — “peak performance,” “optimize,” “take control”, “AI.” But as I read it, something was lacking. I frequently follow various pages and agency websites to stay updated on the latest upgrades and service lists for the multiple brand websites I manage. Therefore, I knew how I got this email. But in detail, there was no mention of the brand, why they reached out to me specifically, or even a hint of new services they provide. No greeting by name (even in this newsletter, I expect a more relevant approach, like “Dear (brand name)’s Community”), no story, no genuine call to action – Do you want me to contact you, review some services, or just watch a testimonial video? But there was a sleek string of buzzwords trying to win me over.

As someone who has spent a decade shaping messages to reinform information and spark emotion, I realized this was a glimpse into the new communication landscape we’re entering — one increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. The question isn’t whether AI will be part of our work. It already is. The question is: how do we preserve our human voice in the age of algorithms?

The New Normal

AI-written press releases, chatbots that handle entire customer conversations, AI-generated content from influencers, AI-created short videos that went viral, artificial intelligence has clearly become the co-pilot in the world of communication. Marketing team can use AI to brainstorm, generate ideas, translate content across language. It drafts, it analyzes, it personalizes, all at lightning speed.

Many brands are integrating creative marketing tools to better connect with potential customers and streamline the purchase process. Just yesterday, while browsing for a new cushion foundation, I was impressed by TirTir, a Korean brand that stood out with its AI-powered virtual try-on feature. By simply taking a photo, the app analyzed my skin tone and suggested six matching shades. Each shade was applied to one half of my face, allowing a real-time comparison with my natural skin on the other side. TirTir offers over 40 shades, far more than most Korean cushion brands, which can make choosing the right tone overwhelming. But by identifying this challenge and solving it through technology, they create a problem and solve it in the same breath.

But here’s the catch: efficiency doesn’t equal humanity.

What makes a human voice human?

In a job interview, the interviewer asked me:

– Do you think the Communication Manager job you are working now will soon replace by AI?
– No, I don’t think it would be the case. Because AI can provide you with facts, numbers, concise paragraphs, and a press release in 2 minutes, whereas only a Communication Manager can engage with teams to identify issues or a lack of communication system. Only a human can communicate with the person in charge to map out exactly what support and resources should be allocated to each team, determine which way of working best supports the team based on the nature of their expertise, and serve as a bridge to connect the division’s mission to the corporate vision. As Communication Manager, I not only create communication assets, but I also communicate with people.

Authentic communication doesn’t come from a prompt. It comes from being clear, curious, and alive to the world. Messages don’t move people unless they feel seen. AI can draft a message, but it takes a human to feel it. A successful campaign will make you laugh, or cry, or repeat the brand video multiple times, because it taps into share truths, and connect with experience you have been through in life. We need to get out of the race to being “perfectly on-brand”, but add more honesty, warmth, and imperfection.

BALANCE THE AI AND HUMAN TOUCH

AI is a tool, not a threat. Our job as communicators is to use it wisely.

First, use AI as a first draft, not a final voice: Let AI get you started with brainstorming, give some market numbers or keywords that have been mentioned multiple times on social last week. Then, infuse our unique perspective, language, and emotion to determine the main ideas and key hook that we believe will resonate with our target customers. Use your example to give an actual review, open to discussions, rather than closing it with a stiff structure.

Second, develop your voice guidelines: Even if you work on a small new brand project or a change initiative within an organization, create clear values and tone-of-voice principles that guide both human and AI-generated content. Do not let AI form your brand voice, but lead the search and work with keywords, benchmarks, and barriers to ensure your uniqueness.

Third, keep cultural context in human hands: When working on multicultural projects or cross-regional messages, never rely solely on AI for culturally sensitive messaging or storytelling. Local voices matter, ask them, talk with the local team, and ensure you adapt the global message to make it more relevant. When I worked on a global influencer event focused on sustainable goals, I spent the first week of the consultancy meeting with regional teams, asking for previous campaign messages and influencer content, reading relevant reports on key topics in the region, and understanding how they differed from the global focus. Work as detail as possible to customize a thoughtful message.

Fourth, fact-check and feeling-check: Test message internally, give it to relevant functional teams for feedback, review all numbers and events, ensure your message is not only accurate — but feels right to general. That’s why when collaborating with influencers, I always save 5-7 days prior launch day to review content with influencers to see if the content match the preferred content of their target audience, is all information precise and is the writing or video style match brand guideline. At the end, all collaboration needs to customized to different type of audiences and cannot be general or mass applied to the whole pool of customers.

Last but not least, tell more stories: Leverage AI to gather insights, then layer on what only humans can offer: lived experience. Share personal stories, behind-the-scenes moments, honest reviews, and real-life connections. These are what resonate. When brands and key opinion leaders do the same, they create a sense of inclusion, making audiences feel part of the journey, not like outsiders watching a robotic message from afar.

In this new era, as the digital noise grows louder, the human voices that clear, honest and inspiring will leave a strong mark. Audiences aren’t just looking for information, they’re looking for connection, something only human insight can truly offer. I believe the brand that can use technology to amplify true stories with clear numbers and effective idea generation will be the ones who are heard.