A Looming Crisis of Confidence, Spurred by AI, Threatens All Brands
Twenty-five years ago, the internet promised free, democratized information. Today, that promise has been fulfilled…but not necessarily the way anyone hoped. In fact, it's going more like how Cory Doctorow predicted. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Sora, which are capable of producing text, images, and videos indistinguishable from human-created content, are flooding the Web with noise. For brands, this poses an existential challenge: How do you maintain trust when your audience can’t tell what’s real? As AI-generated content proliferates, consumers are already resorting to workarounds such as appending “Reddit” to search queries to bypass the clutter.
So, what’s a brand manager to do? In this post
More Content, Less Trust
Search engines were once portals to knowledge. Today they’re battlegrounds where information is ammunition and influence is the prize. A growing share of search results—blogs, product reviews, how-to guides—are AI-generated and optimized for keywords rather than accuracy. In fact, some search engines (such as Google) will provide their own AI-generated information at the top of the results page, pre-empting further searches. This content is often superficial, nonsensical, outdated, inaccurate or outright false, yet it ranks highly due to SEO tactics.
The result? A crisis of confidence.
Consumers looking for authenticity have turned to platforms like Reddit, where human experiences still (ostensibly) dominate. But even Reddit faces an influx of AI-generated posts and bot-driven engagement. The lesson for brands is clear: Trust will become a competitive differentiator. If audiences can’t find reliable information about your products, industry, or leadership, they’ll disengage—or worse, believe a damaging lie.
The Burden of Accuracy
Brands that seek to protect themselves must evolve into authoritative, proactive sources of truth. This goes beyond traditional reputation management. It requires:
Up-to-The Minute Content: Static websites are obsolete. Brands must publish detailed, up-to-date information about their offerings, leadership, and industry trends—and update it relentlessly. For example, a tech company might maintain a live “myth vs. fact” page debunking AI-generated rumors about data privacy.
AI-Powered Listening and Rapid Response: Misinformation spreads quickly. Tools like Sprinklr, Hootsuite, or Brandwatch are critical for monitoring mentions across forums, social media, and news sites. But detection alone isn’t enough. Brands need pre-built response matrices to address scenarios such as:
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Speed and transparency are key. A delayed response risks the false narratives making it into a news cycle, where the damage will be much more challenging to reverse.
Collaboration with Trusted Third Parties: Partner with industry watchdogs, influencers, vendor partners, and media outlets to validate claims. For instance, a food brand facing AI-generated rumors about ingredients could enlist independent labs to publish test results—then amplify those findings across their owned communication channels.
Your Options
As trust erodes, the internet risks fracturing into two tiers. The first, a wasteland of AI-generated clickbait, unreliable reviews, and manipulated media. The second, subscription-based platforms (such as premium news outlets, niche forums) where professionals vet content—for a reasonable monthly price.
This shift has parallels with the early days of the web, when information was scarce. But now, trustworthy information will be scarce. Paywalls could exclude those unable to afford them, exacerbating information inequality as well as education and income inequality.
So what steps can brands take to prepare, today? Establish a third tier consisting of owned communication channels. Consider that generative AI can mimic human language, but it cannot replicate human experience. Brands that lean into authenticity—user-generated content, candid executive communications, transparent storytelling—will stand out. Examples:
The generative AI revolution isn’t coming—it’s here. Do something about it, now, or a multitude of misinformation peddlers will do something about it for you.