Just a few short years ago, everyone was asking ChatGPT to write a poem; today, comment sections are filled with worries about AI’s world domination. Something that started as novel and fun turned into an almost always-on conversation about how humans will soon be made obsolete and technology will take over the world.
If this sentiment sounds a little over the top, that’s because it’s designed to be. Social media is a powerful tool, but it’s also the world’s largest focus group — and it’s relatively unmoderated.
In theory, social media can be an extremely helpful vehicle for inspiring and educating people. But it’s also driven by algorithms. On the topic of AI, those algorithms have the power to shape public perception depending on what influential people and brands are saying about it. And TikTok’s For You page loves a good clickbait video and controversial take.
So, how do we use social media to actually help quell fears and educate users? In short: we need to stop sensationalizing AI, and start humanizing it.
Brands are sending the wrong message
Despite over half of Americans having used generative AI,one in seven Americans are concerned about it “ending humanity.”
That disproportionate reaction makes sense considering that the majority of messages we get from brands use AI’s replacement of humans as a selling point. Take Meta announcing the AI chatbot versions of creators who can respond to messages with scary fidelity or music AI apps like Suno that let anyone create pro-level music.
When they aren’t touting AI as a human replacement, brands are telling consumers that AI can help us do and be anything we want to, but bigger, faster and better. At best, the message is aspirational; at worst, it’s fear-inducing science fiction.
Fewer brands actually tell us how to implement AI in our normal everyday lives in a way that both informs and entertains.
It’s a missed opportunity, considering people are genuinely interested in AI. But when my team at Superdigital researched how brands and personalities were talking about AI on social media, we found that the majority of top performing AI-related organic content was coming from creators, not brands.
For example, YouTube creator TD Bricks earned more than 24 million views on YouTube alone using AI to design several LEGO sets, while inspiring others to experiment with AI to perfect their own creations. Most importantly, the usual AI panic is nowhere to be found in his comments.
Successes like this are likely due to the fact that the videos are entertaining rather than educational. The catch: entertaining content doesn’t always speak to the realities of how people typically use the technology.
On the flip side, brands creating content around AI tend to lead with technical messaging that highlights product specs and screen recordings of tutorials, which fail to stand out in the algorithm because they do little in the way of entertaining and hooking viewers.
Three tips for brands talking about AI on social media
To win on social and avoid adding to the panic, brands need to find a way to bridge the gap between entertainment and education when sharing stories around AI, and not lose sight of the actual hero in the story: humans.
To do this, brands should prioritize a few key elements on social:
Make AI additive, not a replacement: Content needs to prove how AI supplements creativity, instead of replacing it. Avoid messaging that promotes removing humans from the process of creating — like Google’s Olympics Gemini AI ad, which it pulled after facing backlash — and instead show how AI has helped elevate the amazing things humans are already doing.
Think small: Brands should work with creators who can normalize AI by showing its impact in their day-to-day lives. You don’t have to have a larger than life application of AI to intrigue viewers – after all, people still follow Creators just to see their outfit of the day. But you do have to have a story that hooks people and keeps them watching. Prioritize developing relationships with creators who can put their own unique spin on using AI in their daily lives –– from deciding what to wear that week, to using AI to help plan a trip.
Have a conversation: Never forget the importance of the comment section — just make sure you’re participating in a two-way conversation. The comment section might be filled with naysayers, but there’s also countless amounts of folks looking to discover and learn more about AI in the conversation. Brands should constantly be listening on social — both on owned channels and elsewhere — and joining in whenever possible.
Brands are operating under the impression that to stand out and be disruptive, they have to up the ante on what’s possible with AI. In reality, the most disruptive thing a brand can do is normalize AI. AI isn’t sensational — what humans can do with it is.
The sooner brands can recognize and start spreading this message, the sooner we can all get over our fears and reap the benefits.
Whitney Wolf is head of strategy and marketing at Superdigital.
