Why AI copy harms brand trust
Trust breaks down when machines pretend to be humans. We’ve known this since the 70s.
Back then, as humanoid robots and CGI started looking more like real people, researchers noticed something strange.
People could empathise with humanlike machines, reporting feeling affinity towards the mimics. But as the resemblance grew closer to a real person, something weird happened.
Weirding people out
Affinity could be seen growing in direct correlation to human resemblance. But just before reaching human realism, it nosedived, triggering something deep in people’s ancient monkey brain. These reactions veered towards revulsion.
Turns out, almost-but-not-quite weirds people out. Roboticist Masahiro Mori coined a term for the effect, ‘the uncanny valley’. But what was happening? Evolutionary psychologists had an answer.
It was a subconscious defence. An evolved reaction designed to protect our distant ancestors against things that looked human but might be diseased, dead, or trying to trick us.
B2B trust and AI’s uncanny valley
The uncanny valley is a glimpse into the evolution of trust. And with more businesses passing off AI-generated content as human, it’s more relevant now than ever.
AI content harms trust because when a brand almost-but-not-quite mimics a human, the minor imperfections activate our evolutionary operating system. “Beware,” it says. “This thing might be trying to trick us.”
The ping doesn’t always register consciously. In low stakes scenarios, like when a bartender gives you a fake smile, it’s fine, they’re tired – you don’t worry about it.
Context predicts impact
But what about when the stakes are high? Say, a brain surgeon, your building surveyor, or your lawyer… that whiff of insincerity creates doubt.
And because it’s the same doubt that helped our distant ancestors spot deception and stay alive on the ancient savannah, it still impacts trust today.
The higher the stakes, the more sensitive the audience. So if your brand needs to evoke trust, make sure your high stakes communications don’t trigger the uncanny valley.
Research shows AI-assisted copy, crafted by professional human writers, outperforms both AI and human created content. We help trust-based businesses close the gap.