One of the biggest reasons I’m a late(r) convert to AI is that AI-generated content usually has some tells. And while I’m a little closer to it than most, when I spot social media content that’s a direct copy-paste from GPT, it feels canned and inauthentic, and I lose trust in the person or brand.
While I firmly believe that authenticity is important everywhere you market your business, it’s especially important when it comes to making connections and growing relationships on social media.
In fact, while I’m 100% on board with using AI to brainstorm or flesh out ideas, I will never advocate blindly publishing AI-generated social, blog, or email content. With that in mind, I want to share my approach to using AI in social media strategies in a way that allows you to be more effective in how you spend your time while still sounding like you.
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How AI Can Level Up Your Social Media
AI isn’t going anywhere. ChatGPT alone is responsible for millions of conversations every day. And the vast majority of marketers responding to our 2025 Marketing Trends Survey say that AI is making a significant impact on their work, to the tune of nearly 80%.
With that in mind, you’re probably already using AI and doing so feeling pretty good about job security. Just 18% of marketers expressed concern that AI would take over most marketers’ job duties.
The rest feel confident that it will either take away menial aspects of marketing or act as a partner, making marketing more efficient. The key phrase here? “More efficient.” Notice, I didn’t say “as a total replacement.”
That’s because generative AI has some specific telltale signs. Some of them?
- Parallel construction sentence structure — “not only…but also.”
- Abundance of emojis — 🎉 💥 ♥️ ✅
- Generic hooks — “In today’s fast-paced world…”
There are more, and I’m not using this as an example of why not to use generative AI. People do use those tells, too — and that’s precisely why ChatGPT does. Instead, I want to point out that if all of your social content looks like AI or is obviously AI-generated, it can feel inauthentic and may erode your audience’s trust.
M. Shannon Hernandez, founder and CEO of Joyful Business Revolution, agrees. “I have seen nothing that AI has leveled up on social media. The world of social media is swimming with AI, and now is the time to embrace your very humanness and actually stand out in a sea of mediocrity.”
While generative AI is the most popular use for social media, some great options include:
- Brainstorming. I love plugging basic ideas into ChatGPT and asking it to flesh them out further or point out questions people may have.
- Maintaining a consistent voice. Teach your favorite AI tool how you write. Then, it can help you make sense of random musings.
- Polishing your content. Whenever I have something that’s close to the sentiment but doesn’t quite flow right, I often go to GPT to help me make it sound better.
- Getting more mileage out of long-form content. Most people I know publish a blog and drop a few posts on social media. Instead, you can use AI to help you pull out some important ideas and make your content go further without repeating yourself.
- Showing up more consistently. Hit-and-run (also known as post-and-ghost) social media isn’t a strategy. AI can help you come up with more ideas at scale and give you writing prompts for social posts so you can write and schedule a ton of content at once.
- Creating images. Whether you’re using DALL-E to come up with images or using Canva to mass-create quote images to go with captions you’ve written, I think this is one of the best ways to work smarter, not harder.
Over 32% of marketers say product demonstrations or tutorials perform best on social media, with user-generated (22.5%) and behind-the-scenes (22%) content right on its heels.
So, what’s falling behind in terms of social media performance? Educational content ranks lowest. And just 18% of marketers say influencer marketing is their top-performing content.
But here’s what really caught my eye — 84% of marketers expect AI-generated influencers or avatars to start replacing real humans this year.
That’s a red flag, because AI can’t replace real connection. And if you’re using AI in your content strategy, how you use it matters. Here are a few tips for maintaining authenticity in your social media strategy.
1. Use descriptive AI prompts.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” The same applies to AI. It isn’t a mind reader — at least not yet. That means it can only go off of the information you feed it about what you’re creating, which makes it important to spend time developing your prompts.
“As you’re building the prompt, make sure that you put enough effort into the description. I like to tell it who I am, who the client is, the voice to use, and an overview of what you’re looking for. Where possible, it’s helpful to give an example. Once you’ve done that, you’ve given AI enough to go on and give you a draft for the first version you can edit,” says Alyssa Burkus, a ghostwriter who offers thought leadership consulting.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to kick it back with feedback until it gets you closer to what you want.
2. Ask for multiple versions.
In my experience, AI rarely nails my sentiment the first time. So I like to ask for 3-4 versions of whatever I’m using it to create, especially when it comes to emails and social media copy. I find that the slight variations help me get really close to what I want. Plus, it gives me some phrasing I can pick and choose from.
3. Create rules or custom GPTs for different types of copy.
I am low-key obsessed with creating different custom GPTs. I’ve got a few types set up — true custom GPTs and what I call “GPT memories.”
If you find you’re going to create a lot of a specific type of content, which comes with complex instructions, it’s probably worth your while to train a custom GPT.
Just choose “My GPTs” in the dropdown menu and follow the instructions to train your own. The possibilities are endless, so I’m not going to go into more detail here. I’ve got these for emails, social posts, and even landing pages to streamline the drafting process.
The other thing I like to use is ChatGPT’s memories. For example, I’ve taught mine a handful of LinkedIn prompts, hooks, and rules I like to use. Then, all I have to do is ask ChatGPT if it remembers my LinkedIn rules and what they are. Once it responds, I can ask it to take whatever we’ve been discussing and use those rules to give me some social post ideas.
4. Share your experiences.
Your stories and your perspective are what make you come alive. There’s nothing more authentic than sharing what’s actually happening in your business right now. Use AI to shape your stories or repurpose your content — but ground it in something real. Even coupling an AI-generated social media caption with a candid photo can make it feel more personal.
5. Take it one prompt at a time.
One of my favorite takeaways from a recent AI + SEO webinar with Neil Patel was not to do it all in one go. Instead of asking AI to write a full social caption, carousel, and CTA in one prompt, break it up.
Ask it to do A. Then ask it to take A and do B. Then add C. You’ll get better results — and more control.
Anecdotally, I’ve found this true as well, so it was quite validating to hear it. By dripping out information piece by piece, AI can build a foundation for what I’m using it to do and be far more effective than cramming it all into one prompt.
6. Feed AI a transcript of you talking.
Want to make sure your social media content feels authentic? Tell your AI chatbot exactly what you want to say or be known for.
Use a tool like Loom, Otter.ai, or even the voice feature in Google Docs to talk out your two cents on whatever topic is at hand, and then feed that transcript into the generative AI tool with a prompt to use your thoughts and ideas to map out some social posts.
I’ve found it helpful to ask for ideas first and then flesh those out into posts with a dedicated structure.
7. Use AI for social listening.
AI isn’t just about generating new content. It’s also helpful to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your space.
Nikita Morell, copywriter and messaging strategist for architects, shares, “One of my favorite ways to use AI for social media is using tools like Gumloop to ‘listen in’ on discussions and help me identify topics to share on social media. From there, it can either come up with post drafts for me to edit or just send me a list of ideas.”
8. Add a human touch and oversight to every post.
“AI can’t sound human. That’s why it gets tone so wrong. Tone is fundamentally the communication of emotion. And emotion is (for now) a purely human concept,” says Gill Hill, editor, brand voice specialist, and founder of Interrobang!?
While this relates in part to the telltale signs of AI mentioned above, it goes further. If you think of AI as the average of all things said on the Internet, it makes sense that AI-generated content extracts personality and everything that makes content interesting.
Hill agrees. “As brands realize that AI is just a hollow shell of emojis that attempt to replicate tone, they are reaching out for human help. Companies who have never thought about brand voice before (or heaven forbid, discounted it as unnecessary) now look at AI copy and know that the tone is wrong.”
The solution, then, is to go ahead and use AI to your heart’s content. Just don’t post it blindly.
When You Should Avoid AI
My friend Monique Swansen has a rule: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” While she usually uses it in an accounting context because that’s her zone of genius, I’ve found it applies in so many other places… including AI.
Even if AI can do something, it doesn’t always mean you should use it that way. Here are a few situations where it’s best to leave AI on the sidelines.
The Comments Section or DMs
It’s tempting to click on LinkedIn’s AI prompts when it generates a comment — I get it. However, in my experience, AI comments seem to do one of two things:
- Summarize the post.
- Choose one aspect of the post to elevate.
What do the two have in common? Neither adds anything of value. And they both feel inauthentic. The best comments — the ones people actually notice — add to the discussion and share personal experiences. Just like you’d see in any real-life situation.
Same goes for DMs. Some people I know have started putting a period in their LinkedIn profile names to make it easier to spot the bots.
Original Thought Leadership
Thought leadership, at its core, is your thoughts and perspectives, informed by your lived experiences. By definition, AI doesn’t have that — it’s artificial. It can pull from patterns, mimic tone, and organize ideas. But it doesn’t know what you know.
Sure, use AI to flesh out an outline or smooth out a few talking points — after you’ve plugged in your two cents.
Copy and Paste Situations
Don’t plug a post into GPT, copy it word-for-word, and hit publish. It usually feels generic and removes all the energy from your voice.
Fiona O’Carroll, director of digital marketing at Xenon Arc, shares, “I use ChatGPT to come up with a draft before plugging it into another tool — Hemingway — to help make it sound less like AI.”
From there, she can analyze the text, find areas where it should be stronger or simpler, and then make sure it has her personal touch.
I also like using tools like Originality.AI to find specific passages that may need another pass to sound less like AI and more like you. That said, I think it’s important to take these outputs with a grain of salt. Because sometimes AI sounds human and vice versa, especially with drier, more technical language.
When You’re Telling Personal Stories
Hernandez says, “AI is a machine that has all the knowledge in the world and none of the wisdom that makes a human, well, human. AI doesn’t have the capacity to feel. It doesn’t have the capacity to create or hold or evoke emotions, and it certainly doesn’t have the capacity to have empathy.”
Sure, you can use AI to polish these up or structure them in a way that makes more sense. But, it doesn’t pay to remove all of what made the story yours from the post. Your voice — with all its quirks, edges, and energy — is what cuts through.
When You Have to Be Spot-on in Your Messaging
There are some areas where AI just isn’t worth the risk. Don’t rely on it for:
- Crisis communications.
- Brand messaging that’s been client-approved or legally sensitive.
- Anything requiring cultural nuance.
- Legal, financial, or health claims.
Use human judgment here. Always.
Being Transparent About How You Use AI
If you’re using AI in your content creation process — say so. Do you need to do it for every social post you do? Not really. But if you’re creating content for other people, it’s a must.
Sure, it’s about ethics and doing the right thing. It’s also about trust.
If you’re a personal brand, the bar isn’t quite as high, but if questioned, always respond honestly.
On the other hand, if you’re an agency or creating content on behalf of clients, it’s probably a good idea to include in your contract if and when you use AI, the kind of human oversight and editing that’s involved, and what tools are in play.
Note: This isn’t legal advice, so absolutely consult an attorney about best practices here.
Whatever you do, don’t fake it. At this point, most clients expect and/or encourage the use of AI, so the real issue lies in telling the truth about it.
You Are the Secret Sauce
If you’ve ever attended one of my workshops, you’ve probably heard me say, “Your secret sauce isn’t your methodology or mechanics. It’s YOU.”
The truth is, whatever the step-by-step process is, you can probably learn about it on YouTube or by asking AI. But as much as you or I can break down how to do something, we can’t teach people how to think or how our neurons are wired.
So what I really mean here is that your secret sauce is all of your lived experience that informs your approach. And that’s the part that AI tools can’t do.
As I mentioned earlier, ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper — whatever AI tool you love most — doesn’t know what makes you tick. It doesn’t know your voice, your story, or the way you see the world. That’s what makes your content worth reading.
So, by all means, use the heck out of AI. Brainstorm with it. Build with it. Speed things up with it.
Just don’t forget that you’re the ingredient that makes it matter.
