04 - Alex Hormozi and the AI Imposter: Building Trust Through Authentic Branding

Imagine this:

You’re scrolling through LinkedIn and come across a post from a well-known entrepreneur you respect. You disagree with the post, so you decide to comment, challenging their viewpoint.

A few hours later, to your surprise, you get a response from them. It’s direct and personal and suggests taking the conversation to another platform like Telegram.

You’re intrigued. After all, it’s not every day you get a personal response from someone with that level of influence. So, you move the conversation to Telegram, expecting a one-on-one interaction.

But as the conversation continues, something feels off.

The replies seem mechanical, lacking that human touch. You start wondering, Am I really speaking to them, or is this just a bot or someone else?

Now imagine discovering later that it wasn’t them at all.

You were misled, interacting with a bot or someone on their team pretending to be them. How would you feel? Misled? Duped? A little foolish?

That’s exactly what happened to entrepreneur Ryan Levesque when he thought he was having a direct conversation with Alex Hormozi on LinkedIn.

After engaging with what seemed like Alex, he was directed to Telegram, where the interaction quickly felt inauthentic. At that moment, Ryan’s trust was broken.

Reading some of the comments on Ryan's FB post also revealed a general concern about the use of bots and inauthentic communication online.

There are also some fascinating and contrasting perspectives being offered.

Ryan later discovered that it wasn’t Alex at all, but a sophisticated imposter or bot mimicking Alex’s personal brand.

This was still a valuable lesson for us all.

The Real Problem with AI and Trust

This isn’t an isolated incident. It reflects a growing challenge in today’s AI-driven world. Trust erosion happens quickly when people feel misled, even unintentionally. And that’s where the issue lies.

Personal branding is about building real, human connections. When those connections feel faked or overly automated, trust can evaporate instantly.

Generative AI?is increasingly used to create blog posts and social media content and even manage interactions through comments and replies. In addition, many influencers and businesses are turning to auto-reply bots and automated comment systems to handle high volumes of communication and scale their engagement.

While these tools can save time and streamline content management, they can also create distrust.

If someone believes they’re interacting with a person but instead gets a generic, AI-generated response, it can feel disingenuous, making the audience question whether the person is truly engaged.

Ryan’s experience left him questioning not just that interaction, but Alex’s personal brand overall. Even though it turned out that the real Alex wasn’t at fault—someone had impersonated him—the damage had already been done.

Trust, once shaken, is hard to regain.

It’s a stark reminder of how important it is to be transparent when using automation or team members to manage personal interactions.

But here’s the key point: Ryan didn’t suggest avoiding bots or team members altogether. In fact, he admitted that he had previously relied on a team to handle communication on his behalf. What Ryan emphasized was the importance of being clear.

When communication feels like it’s coming directly from you, it needs to actually come from you—or at least make it clear when it’s not. Otherwise, the line between authentic and inauthentic becomes dangerously blurred, and trust can quickly dissolve.

Now ask yourself: Could your audience be having a similar experience with you?

The Solution Lies in Authenticity, Expertise, and Reliability

The rise of AI and automation means many people are outsourcing personal interactions. It can save time, yes—but the risk is that it can also create a barrier between you and your audience.

The lesson here isn’t to avoid using bots or team members entirely, but rather to be transparent when doing so. Your audience deserves to know who they’re engaging with.

For your personal brand to build and maintain trust, it must rest on three pillars: authenticity, expertise, and reliability.

• Authenticity means showing up as yourself, genuinely and transparently. Your audience wants to know the real you—your values, your story, and yes, even your mistakes.
• Expertise doesn’t mean claiming to know everything—it’s about being honest about your lived experience. When sharing insights, be transparent about whether your knowledge comes from firsthand experience or if it’s something you're currently learning.
• Reliability is following through on what you say. Consistency is key. If people feel they can count on you to deliver, they’ll trust you.

When these three elements come together, they create a personal brand that acts as a trust signal. People will know that when they engage with you, they’re getting the real deal—not just a facade.

Strengthen Your Personal Brand as a Trust Signal

So, what can you do to ensure your personal brand doesn’t fall into the same trap? Be transparent.

If you’re using bots, AI-generated content, or having someone on your team handle interactions on your behalf, make it clear. Don’t blur the lines between your voice and automation.

Here’s how you can start building a stronger, more trustworthy personal brand:

• Show up authentically: Be transparent with your audience about who’s behind your communications. Share your own personal stories, challenges, and wins. Authenticity is what makes you relatable.
• Demonstrate expertise: Prove your knowledge by providing valuable content, industry insights, and solutions to real-world problems. Let your audience see that you’re an expert in your field, not just in title but in practice. If you’re in the process of learning and want to share that journey with others, say so upfront. Your audience will appreciate your honesty, and it builds trust over time. Always back up your claims with evidence—whether it’s case studies, data, or real-world examples—to strengthen your credibility.
• Be reliable: Consistency is everything. Whether it’s responding to messages or delivering a project on time, reliability is what solidifies trust over time.
• Review and edit AI-generated content: If you’re using generative AI to create social media posts or comments, don’t just copy and paste. Edit and personalise the content to reflect your true voice. This way, you ensure that your audience feels they are genuinely interacting with you, not a robot.

Building trust through personal branding isn’t just about the words you use. It’s about how you consistently show up - online and offline. The more your audience knows, likes, and trusts you, the more valuable your personal brand becomes.

Now over to you - Has an online encounter ever caused you to doubt someone's trustworthiness? Let me know in the comments.

Next week, we’ll discuss how to ensure consistency in your personal brand across multiple platforms and why maintaining that consistency is critical for building and sustaining trust.

Subscribe to Trust Signals to receive the next edition.

This edition was drafted with the help of ChatGPT Plus and Perplexity AI. Image generated by LinkedIn AI.