The Future of Influence: How AI Will Transform Personal Branding for Digital Leaders

"I want to use AI to build my brand," says the fictional CEO. Though, if you've spent any time on X/Twitter, that fictional CEO doesn't feel very fictional. Over the past couple of years, AI has risen to prominence, thanks mostly to ChatGPT, DALL-E, and other generative AI platforms. While we're tempted to integrate it into more and more of our lives, we have to be careful. AI has its limits, and over-adoption has a cost. That said, AI is a great tool to use when leveraged correctly. So, let's look at how you can use AI to transform your personal brand and step up as a leader in the digital future. 

AI As an Analytic Tool

Artificial intelligence has limits, but one of its strongest capacities lies in its ability to analyze data. We already (and have for years) used AI to analyze different marketing analytics. It's not a far leap to use AI to analyze your personal brand's impact. As AI tools become more robust and able to properly analyze human language and interpret ambiguities, we will be able to use them to measure people's opinions based on what they post on social media and the comments they leave on posts and videos. Just as AI measures demographics, click rates, and views now, we can teach it to measure terms and phrases that indicate like, dislike, and satisfaction without relying on numerical ratings.

AI As a Personal Content Generator

I'm not a proponent of utilizing AI over human creators, and brands moving towards that will regret that decision in the coming years if they haven't started already. That said, you can utilize AI to help you create your own personal content. Train your AI of choice on your writing style and word choice. Then, use the tool to help you in your content creation by, 

Creating simple, short-form "bonus posts" to help increase your social media output. Brainstorming longer-form content such as blog posts and articles. Helping you write passages that you otherwise struggle with when creating content.

When utilizing AI in this way, read over content and edit it carefully. Even the best AI programs we have currently can hallucinate information, generating "facts" that have no basis in reality but instead fit into patterns of text. Posting misinformation will only harm your brand. Likewise, not every word the AI generates will "feel" human. As you read, as yourself, would I type it that way? If the answer is no, reword it. 

Do Not Lose the Human Connection

You'll notice that with the exception of the first suggestion, I recommend using AI tools to help augment your content, but not to replace it altogether. Short, easy "filler" posts for social media can include things like affirmations or a quick word of advice about a topic. These are the kinds of posts that are good for building engagement but aren't the bread-and-butter of your social media content. 

The core of your content should always be you and your voice. Even if you use AI to brainstorm ideas or help you write a difficult idea, it should have your own personal flair and creativity. People want to connect with people, and that human connection is the most important part of building your personal brand. As you look to integrate AI into your personal branding strategy, don't forget the core - you.