AI uniformity in marketing: Why so many companies end up there (and how you can protect your brand from it)

AI is everywhere – and that's exactly why it's dangerous

Today, AI writes LinkedIn posts, landing pages, product texts and newsletters, and delivers campaign ideas in minutes. The topic has long since arrived in German SMEs: the „AI Index for SMEs“ (Salesforce/DMB) reports that 33,1 % of medium-sized companies (up to 500 employees) are already using AI.¹²

And yet, we are increasingly seeing a paradoxical result in projects:

More content. Less impact. Because many things suddenly sound the same. Argued in the same way. Has the same effect.

Welcome to the AI mishmash.

The real problem is not AI. It is a lack of brand clarity.

Many teams start with AI according to the motto: „We need more output - AI will do it faster.“ True. But AI does not replace positioning. It is merely a amplifier. If tonality, benefit arguments and differentiation only exist „somehow“, AI produces exactly that - only in larger quantities.

And this is not a marginal issue: the Themenmonitor „AI in German SMEs in 2025“ shows that in approximately 43 % there is currently no concrete AI strategy.³ This is particularly true in marketing, because experimentation happens quickly here – often without a foundation.

How to recognise AI uniformity (5 typical symptoms)

If you recognise one or more of these, you are not alone:

1. It all sounds „nice“, but it doesn't sound like you.
   Texts are correct, but interchangeable.
2. Each channel has a different sound.
   Website serious, LinkedIn suddenly flippant, newsletter spruced up.
3. Same structure as all the others.
   You read the first sentence and know: „I've seen this a hundred times before.“
4. More content, but no better conversion.
   More posts, more pages, more emails – but leads remain the same.
5. The team discusses details endlessly.
   Because no one can clearly define what is „typical of the brand“.

The fact that this risk is real is also being discussed in the trade press: if more and more texts are created using AI, there is a real danger of ending up with a patchwork of generic arbitrariness – AI uniformity. And that is why the Brand voice on the AI agenda.⁴

Why AI without a brand voice almost inevitably sounds generic

AI models are extremely good at, probable To generate texts. And in marketing, „probably“ often means: on average. If you don't give the AI any guard rails, it ends up with formulations that fit everywhere - and therefore have no effect anywhere.

It's like telling an intern: „Write a text about our product.“ Without a target group. Without a value proposition. Without examples. Without no-gos. The result is not „bad“. It's just not your company, your brand, your identity. It's AI monotony.

What Google (and your target group) does with AI chatter

A very practical reason why you should take this topic seriously: Google has been emphasising for years that content is paramount. helpful and people-first should be.⁶ And Google also states quite clearly: AI content is not prohibited per se – Quality, usefulness and intention are crucial.⁷ However, if you create many pages that are primarily put out into the world „for rankings“, this can lead to Scaled Content Abuse Google describes this as mass-produced, unoriginal content with no added value, regardless of how it was created.⁸⁹

In short: AI is not the problem. Inflationary uniformity is the problem.

The solution is therefore not „less AI“, but: Create the basis first.

If you want artificial intelligence to really help you, you need a foundation on which it can „saddle up“. Call it a brand foundation, brand basis or simply „guard rails“: The main thing is that it is so clear that you can derive texts, offers, arguments and campaigns from it without having to start from scratch every time.

7 building blocks that are necessary for this:

1. Positioning in one sentence
   For whom? For what? Why you?
2. Core problem of your target group (really specific)
   Not „more visibility“, but real pain.
3. Value proposition & evidence
   What measurable changes are occurring? What cases, data, references?
4. Brand voice / tone rules
   Words you use. Words you never use. Sentence length. Attitude.
5. message hierarchy
   What is always the main message – and what is only supplementary?
6. Application templates
   Briefing format for landing pages, social posts, adverts, newsletters.
7. Approval and quality logic
   Who checks what? According to what criteria?

This is not „off-the-shelf branding“. It is a prerequisite for ensuring that AI does not something, rather your brand scaled.

Quick win: How to brief AI so that it doesn't give generic answers

If you want to improve something immediately, start with this mini-framework (without changing tools, without a huge changeover). It will help you to formulate prompts more efficiently:

1) Role and context
„You are our brand editor. Target audience: managing directors in medium-sized companies...“

2) Brand voice in 6 bullet points
„Clear. Direct. No empty phrases. Short sentences. Evidence instead of assertions...“

3) Differentiation
„We are NOT X. We are Y because ...“

4) Evidence
„Use these 3 references/facts: ...“

5) Output check
„Give three variants and state the following for each variant: tonality, focus on benefits, risk.“

This is not yet a brand foundation, but it reduces standardised board production.

Why is brand-compliant content particularly important for SMEs?

German SMEs thrive on trust, substance and clarity.

At the same time, generative AI is becoming increasingly widespread in companies and is not always controlled: Bitkom reports, among other things, that 26 % provide companies with access to generative AI and further 17 % plan to do so; moreover, only some of them already have clear rules for the use of AI.⁵

The more teams use AI, the more important it becomes to find common ground. Otherwise, you end up with five different tones, ten different arguments – and a brand that appears blurred to the outside world.

Conclusion: AI makes marketing faster. The brand foundation makes marketing effective.

If you're thinking: „Yes... we're producing more, but it feels arbitrary“, then it's probably not a tool problem. AI amplifies what is already there. Once your brand foundation is clear, AI becomes a scaling machine.
When things are unclear, AI becomes a machine that churns out uniformity. (Incidentally, there is also an interesting article on this topic in the Handelsblatt newspaper.)

FAQ

Why does AI content often sound interchangeable?

Because without clear brand inputs (target group, tone, differentiation, examples), AI generates statistically probable formulations – and these are often „average“.

What is the most important step against AI uniformity?

A defined brand foundation: positioning, target group problem, proof of benefits and brand voice guidelines.

Is AI content detrimental to Google?

Not automatically. The decisive factor is whether content is helpful and was created for people.⁶⁷

What is „scaled content abuse“?

When many pages are primarily created to manipulate rankings rather than to help users – regardless of whether AI or other automation is used.⁸

Sources / Footnotes

1. Salesforce / DMB: „AI Index for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises“ (33.1% use AI)
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2. German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses: AI Index for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (summary & classification)
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3. bidt: Topic monitor „AI in German SMEs 2025“ (including ~43 % without a specific AI strategy)
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4. Marketing: „Brand voice first: Making AI sound like the brand“
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5. Bitkom: „Employees are increasingly using shadow AI“ (GenAI access 26 % provided, 17 % planned; rules)
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6. Google Search Central: Helpful Content Update (people-first content)
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7. Google Search Central: Guidance about AI-generated content
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8. Google Search Central: Spam Policies (including „Scaled content abuse“)
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9. Google Search Central: Using generative AI content (best practices and compliance)
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