How to create content AI can’t replicate

Cheaper, better, faster and stronger – these are the promises AI tools make to marketers, and they’re alluring ones. But the reality of the landscape today is that the real risk isn’t being outpaced. It’s becoming invisible.

When everyone has access to the same tools, it’s no wonder that the outputs start to look the same too. Suddenly, the worst fate for marketers is to blend into an AI-generated sea of sameness.

In my work helping brands commission bespoke visual content, I get a rare front-row seat to what marketers are actually briefing for when they’re trying to solve real commercial problems. What I’m seeing points clearly to where the opportunity is and where brands may be falling short.

It starts with the brief

Every good marketer knows that what you get out of a brief will only be as good as what you put in. An overwhelming majority of briefs I see explicitly request real people, which speaks to the appetite for raw, unfiltered content. Authenticity is the single most requested concept across briefs, and what marketers mean by it is surprisingly precise: they want visuals that feel discovered rather than directed.

This is where AI falls short. Yes, it can replicate technically perfect images in almost any style. What it cannot do is capture unpredictable human moments that naturally arise when real emotion and effort goes into a piece of work. Audiences love seeing the human fingerprints left behind.

Those moments have to be created in conditions that allow them to happen, which means investing in the brief and the creative environment long before a camera appears.

Lead with lived experience

The goal for marketers isn’t just to be seen, but to be felt. Almost two in three brand briefs explicitly request emotional connection as a core creative requirement. It makes sense; emotional recall is what makes a brand memorable long after the end of a campaign (which is a goal any marketer should strive for!).

In practice, that means anchoring content to the moments audiences actually live in. Nissan does this well — its ‘Built for the grit shift‘ campaign taps into the everyday challenges of the essential workers keeping our country moving. Although this advert is clearly well produced, it is the focus on ordinary moments, rather than the aspirational ones audiences are used to, that make it relatable and emotional – which is precisely the point.

Show the steam off a morning coffee, the quiet of a solo hike or the mess of a shared family meal – let audiences get under the surface of a visual to relate it to their own inner lives. When content moves beyond just the visual and speaks to the lived experience within a moment, it sticks with audiences.

Let the mess stay in

One of the simplest and most powerful storytelling techniques is show, don’t tell. And it’s one that marketers can use in visual imagery. What this actually means in practice is that brands must show that they understand how audiences see and experience the world in order to connect with them.

After all, they know themselves and their own communities best; the good, the bad and the ugly. And it’s what they want to see reflected in marketing content that targets them.

Rexona’s brand-owned series, ‘Rivals’, is a strong example of what this looks like in practice. Rather than traditional sponsorship content, the brand produced documentary-style footage that gave audiences behind-the-scenes access to their favourite athletes – letting fans in on the unscripted moments, the brutality of the physical challenges and small interactions between teams. The goal is to capture the genuine moments that fans actually crave, and that means leaving room for the unexpected.

The brands producing the most original work are commissioning creators from within the cultures they want to reach, rather than interpreting those cultures from the outside.

Make it brand-specific, not just brand-safe

When it comes to content that stands out, your imperfections can be your superpower: fleeting expressions, unexpected interactions and real vulnerability that catch audiences off guard should stay in rather than be polished out.

The brands building genuine connection are investing in ongoing relationships with real communities, and giving them room to show up as themselves.

AI is a powerful tool for speed and scale. But the judgement to know what will feel true for a specific audience, in a specific cultural moment, remains human work.

Image: Supplied

Kate Rourke is the director and head of creative for APAC at Getty Images and iStock