In just a couple of short years, AI has managed to transform social media. From captions to visuals, posts to comments, AI content is almost everywhere. At a glance, this may seem like a great thing to marketers. It means that content production can be scaled in a way it never has been before. It’s efficient, can be produced en-masse and be done repeatedly and consistently. However, that all comes at a cost. Have you noticed that something feels off with social media lately? It might be the lack of human touch.
Social media was made to be… well… social. A space for real conversations, sharing your thoughts and building communities. Instead, it’s becoming a sea of AI-generated posts that lack depth and originality. Rather than creating connections, it’s fostering a sense of disconnect between brands and their audiences.
If you’re curious, open up LinkedIn and take a look at what comes up on your feed. We’d hedge a bet that you’ll find several AI-generated posts that are designed to create conversations and just… don’t. Posts that get lots of interaction tend to be much more personal, documenting real experiences or expressing human thoughts and feelings. So why is AI still littering the internet? We’re going to investigate.
A Loss Of Authenticity & Human Connection
When social media first became mainstream, it was there to help us connect. Whether it was pictures of what was had for dinner or posts asking for local restaurant recommendations, people used the platforms to share their lives and interact with others. Over the years, businesses have taken advantage of the attention people pay to social media, creating business pages and placing paid advertisements on feeds.
Many businesses did this with great success. Showing the human side of companies lead to funny and interesting memes, videos and posts. Behind-the-scenes moments offer a lighthearted insight into how companies really work, and are often really relatable. This is something that AI can’t achieve.
Users can sense this shift. Posts that are written and created by humans are relatable, even when they’re imperfect. In fact, that imperfection can be the very thing that evokes emotion. When everything sounds ultra-perfect and as though it’s an echo of every other thought on the internet, it all starts to sound the same. It can even feel calculated, which ultimately causes audiences to lose interest.
Efficiency Vs. Engagement
AI has massively increased the amount of content we can produce in a short space of time. Whether you’re using AI to create content from start to finish or simply as an assist to improve what you already write, it’s allowing us to churn out more words than ever before. On paper, this sounds like a massive win. However, we still need to consider whether quantity is going to outweigh quality.
We know that AI is capable of creating grammatically correct content within seconds. So when we discuss quality we’re not really talking about it on a technical or academic level. The qualities that AI cannot fulfil relate to emotional depth and personal touch. These are things that only a human writer can produce. When it comes to social media, people are drawn to interact with posts that make them feel something. A post that looks good but lacks genuine insight or relatability is unlikely to trigger a meaningful discussion. Therefore, it begs the question. What’s the point? If we’re using AI to produce masses of content that doesn’t create engagement, what’s the point in using it on platforms that are designed to connect people?
Creating An Echo Chamber
The most significant issue we can see with all this AI content on social media is how repetitive it’s all becoming. Ultimately, AI can only pull data from the sources that it has within its programming. While those sources may be varied, the outcome that AI produces often regurgitates similar ideas, phrasings and formats. This is why many people are able to spot when something has been written with AI – there are several formulaic giveaways that become glaringly obvious when you start to recognise them.
Now that this is happening so prolifically on every social media platform, almost every personality and brand is starting to sound the same – even competitors.
If you’ve scrolled through LinkedIn lately you may have noticed how many posts follow the same pattern. It usually goes like this:
- Begin with a bold statement or anecdote that may or may not sound genuine.
- Present a problem and shows how it can or should be overcome.
- A call to action that tries to drive engagement or start a conversation.
These posts can vary from humorous to serious, and are usually littered with emojis in a way that can feel a little cheesy. They’re often worded as several statements, and while they are usually easy to read and understand, they can feel soulless and a little ‘to the point’. Go and have a look at your own feed if you’re interested. At the time of writing this, the third post on my own dashboard followed the exact formula written above!
Are The Algorithms Pushing AI Content Over Real Conversations?
Here’s where the issues with AI content and social media get even more complicated. Social media algorithms are designed to prioritise engaging posts that encourage likes, shares and comments. They also favour consistency and frequent posting. Since AI can rapidly produce loads of content at scale, a lot of it is getting pushed to the top of our feeds. However, this doesn’t mean that content is any more valuable, it’s just meeting an arbitrary quota set by the algorithms.
AI-generated posts have an advantage when it comes to gaming the system. They can be optimised with techniques such as clickbait, trend-driven phrasing and data-backed posting times. These are all designed to maximise reach by appeasing the algorithms. Meanwhile, human-written content, which may be more thoughtful but less frequent or strategically timed, often struggles to break through. This creates a feedback loop where AI content gets amplified simply because it meets algorithmic preferences, not because it sparks real conversations. If social media platforms continue to prioritise quantity over quality, we could see feeds flooded with repetitive, soulless posts, making genuine human interaction even harder to find. And let’s face it – we’re already starting to see this now.
That said, there is a glimmer of hope. As users become more aware of this shift, there’s likely to be a demand for change. This could come either from platforms adjusting their algorithms to promote more authentic engagement, or from users seeking out spaces where real conversations still thrive. The question is: Will these changes happen before social media loses its original purpose altogether?
Where Do We Go From Here?
Let’s face it, AI is here to stay. However, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We can still use AI and benefit from its ability to help us produce lots of content in a short space of time. It can also be used to automate the boring stuff, like repetitive tasks and admin jobs we’d rather not do. In an ideal world, we’d use it to assist us but not to replace genuine human storytelling.
So, you may be wondering what steps we can all take to make social media spaces a little more personal. We would suggest that everyone focuses on the following:
- Start with a story. A real story or experience shared from one human to another is the best way to establish a conversation. Don’t be afraid to share your emotions and be a little vulnerable sometimes. Ultimately, it’s those very human things that lead to the most interesting conversations and connections.
- Embrace imperfection. Not everything needs to be ultra-polished and optimised to appease algorithms. Trends can appear out of nowhere, and more often than not, the things that go ‘viral’ end up being unexpected and imperfect.
- Engage. Your audience wants to connect with you, and the people behind your brand. If you’re using AI to respond to your audience, they’ll soon realise they’re not establishing a genuine human connection. Don’t rely on pre-written text if you can help it – it’s worth taking the time to interact authentically.
- Use AI as a tool. After all, it’s there to be used. However, like many tools, it should be used thoughtfully. As long as the final outcome represents your unique voice and perspective, it can be of great benefit to you.
Ultimately, we get to decide what kind of content thrives. If we value real conversations over robotic repetition, we need to engage with the posts that make us feel something and challenge the platforms that prioritise quantity over quality. The future of social media is still in our hands—so let’s make sure we keep it human.
Written by Alice Farley
