Navigating AI-Pragmatism and Brand Authenticity

Last month I wrote about how brands and marketers should navigate the potential of a consumer AI backlash. My commentary was generally aimed at corporate-side marketers and the increasing use of AI for marketing and advertising content generation. But I do think we’re starting to see this backlash take rapid shape in other, perhaps more predictable areas: the creative arts.

And I believe this is an early warning indicator of a more nuanced conversation that needs to happen in our industry about the use of AI.

The context

Bandcamp, the popular music app, announced on Reddit yesterday that they are banning “Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.”

“We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans.”

Even Spotify announced back in September an initiative to clean up AI slop and artist impersonations, amid a massive wave of AI-generated or AI-assisted music flooding online music platforms, and growing listener backlash.

As I noted back in my previous post, this is a real issue brands need to deal with that is already extending beyond music and other obvious creative expression:

Consumer trust in brands who lean too heavily into AI-generated content is rapidly eroding. 87% of consumers believe it’s important for brand images to be “authentic” and not obviously AI generated, and 76% agree ‘It's getting to the point where I can't tell if an image is real.’ And per Sprout Social, “55% of consumers say they’re more likely to trust brands that are committed to publishing content created by humans v. AI. That number increases to 62% for Millennials.”

Emily Greene, a forward-thinking agency creative at VIVA Creative, posted on LinkedIn about exactly this. “Lately I’m noticing a counter-trend emerging, a longing for things unmistakably made by human hands.” She cites Creative Bloq and what they call the tactile rebellion in design:

“From handcrafted rebellion to layered storytelling, it's all about personality, warmth and unmistakably human design.”

The nuanced conversation brands and marketers need to have about AI

So much of the online debate about AI these days is polarized: Those who are all-in on AI, and those who steadfastly refuse to embrace it. Both have their points, and I think navigating that line to land on some level of AI pragmatism in marketing is what will dominate our industry conversation in 2026.

AI pragmatism means it’s not an either/or conversation, it’s not (entirely) “should we use AI or should we not” though I would argue in some creative situations the argument is considerably more black and white. But at least for marketers, Generative AI has real and practical value, as I suspect most any practicing marketer can attest. It can dramatically speed up experimentation, time-to-market, and repetitive production tasks, acting as a force-multiplier in a time of limited staffing and resources. It can put the power of rapid software development and prototyping in the hands of even non-technical marketers, freeing them of total dependence on IT or outside support. It can absolutely be a valuable creative and strategic partner when used appropriately - as an augment to human creativity and judgment, rather than a replacement.

But it’s not an absolute solution, and shouldn’t be. Trying to entirely replace human creatives with AI is, in my view, the path to major consumer backlash and marketing risk and underperformance for brands. "The “Made by Humans” sentiment, the “tactile rebellion”, I do believe will gain steam in 2026 in direct proportion to the deluge of AI slop being churned out in almost every format and channel. A deluge that in all likelihood will massively grow as AI adoption proliferates. With that deluge, the tantalizing promise of AI-enabled personalization-at-scale risks saturation of audiences (especially B2B audiences, who are already overwhelmed by email), and the uncanny valley of AI is still very much a real thing, even in well-prompted B2B copy.

What is the “AI pragmatic” path for marketers?

I firmly believe if, as a marketer in 2026, you are not actively seeking to become fluent in AI platforms and how they can benefit your team, you and your organization are at serious risk of being left behind. As mentioned, AI has real, valuable and practical applications in marketing and that will only accelerate as agentic AI solutions start to mature and spread (though there remains a serious question mark about proof of ROI). Focusing your AI adoption on your marketing backoffice, your repetitive workflows, user journey optimization, etc. will continue to be a smart bet for most marketing teams.

But beware the AI absolutists, who promise a world where generative AI takes over your marketing creative engines entirely. It’s not just about having the “human in the loop” it’s about ensuring a genuinely authentic human voice can be found in your messaging, content, and outreach.

The brands who master that pragmatic middle will be the ones who win in 2026 and beyond: realizing the efficiency and scale benefits of marketing AI adoption without compromising their genuine brand voice and authenticity.