AI Images All Look The Same?
“One thing I was chatting to Tom about last night, I’m keen not to use any AI-generated images or posters on social media. So many people are using them and they all look the same!”
That’s an exact quote from a valued customer, in a message I received on 8th September.
As a marketing consultant, I’m starting to encounter a small but growing resistance to the use of AI from clients. Not because they’re ethically opposed to the technology, but because they can see the competitive advantage it creates diminishing when it comes to image production.
From my own standpoint, as you probably know, I’m not anti-AI. There’s a place for it in marketing and business. For gaining a deeper understanding of large quantities of analytics data, for example, it’s completely game-changing.
But I think the point she was making is an important one.
The overuse of the same AI-generated styles for promotional posters has become so widespread that it’s beginning to create customer fatigue. Instead of generating interest, these increasingly recognisable AI visuals risk generating resistance.
You know the look.
Different event. Different business. Different message.
But somehow… the same poster.
Having spent time teaching marketing at university, I’ve always believed that good marketing is about understanding people, challenging assumptions and finding a way to stand out, not simply reproducing whatever the prevailing trend (or AI model) tells us is working.
AI can generate an image in seconds. What it can’t replicate is the authenticity of working with a talented graphic designer who understands your business, questions the brief, brings their own experiences and influences to it, and occasionally comes back with an idea you would never have thought of yourself, with or without AI input.
That human might disagree with you.
They might challenge you.
They might think completely outside the box, beyond the limits of a data-driven tool.
So perhaps the question isn’t AI or human.
It’s knowing when the job needs a human.
That said, I completely understand why social enterprises, start-ups and businesses working with limited budgets turn to AI for this purpose.
But there are often great-value ways to work with a real creative professional too. A few years ago, working with the University of Plymouth and The Cube, I built the PlymouthFreelancers.co.uk website to help make that possible.
You can post a project and find a qualified, real person, a current or former student, with fresh ideas, capable of thinking outside the box rather than simply producing another variation of what an algorithm thinks your poster should look like.
And yes…
The poster accompanying this post was created using AI.
Obviously. 🙂
This article was written by Elliot Forte, founder and Director of Business Think, a business strategist, digital marketing specialist, and educator with over 25 years’ experience supporting thousands of organisations to grow and adapt in an evolving marketplace. The views expressed are solely those of the author and are based on his professional experience working with businesses across a wide range of sectors.
If you would like to work with Elliot, explore collaboration opportunities, or discuss how he can support your business growth, please get in touch.