Four Reasons You Shouldn’t Use AI to Hack Your Brand
Listen up. If you’re thinking about using ChatGPT or any other AI tool to hack your brand on the cheap, here are four reasons that’s a terrible idea.
By David Kippen, PhD | CEO, Evviva Brands
- AI has no idea what business you’re actually in.
Brand strategy is about markets, competitors, category dynamics, customer psychology, and where you can credibly win. AI doesn’t know your P&L, your politics, your runway, your risk tolerance, or what battles you’re fighting internally. Without specialist guidance, it fills the gaps by guessing. That’s not strategy—that’s noise.
- AI can’t tell you what’s differentiating versus what’s generic.
Most categories are saturated with look-alike messaging (“innovative,” “trusted,” “customer-centric”). AI will happily generate more of the same because it doesn’t know which territory you can claim and defend. Strategists do. Clear positioning comes from understanding the competitive landscape. AI alone cannot do that assessment.
- AI has no responsibility for getting it wrong. You do.
If your brand promise falls apart in market—or worse, sets expectations your team can’t meet—AI isn’t accountable. You are. Mis-positioning, weak value props, bad architecture choices, tone-deaf messaging… these mistakes cost real revenue. AI won’t carry the risk; your brand will.
- “ChatGPT told me” is not a defense when your rebrand bombs.
Boards don’t care. Customers don’t care. Talent doesn’t care. If your brand under-delivers–or your rebrand bombs–because you skipped the hard work of real strategy, that’s on you. AI is a great amplifier—but it can’t replace judgment, experience, or the ability to see around corners. Don’t be the leader who has to tell your CEO “that’s on us: we did it in-house with AI.”
Bottom line:
AI is a powerful tool. At Evviva, we use it every day—to accelerate insight, broaden options, and sharpen thinking. But brand strategy still requires strategists who know how to diagnose, differentiate, and de-risk. If you want a brand that actually drives growth, don’t hand the job to a bot.
