Every day, your potential customers are bombarded with thousands of brand messages. Most of them? Robotic, overproduced, and instantly forgettable.
And as AI enters the mainstream, that noise is only getting louder.
So how do you stand out?
By sounding unmistakably human.
Because today's buyers don't just want answers, they want to hear from real people who understand their problems and have lived their frustrations.
Human content builds trust, sparks emotion, and creates real connections. It's felt. It's remembered. It moves people to act.
The Markers of Human Content
What separates a human voice from the sea of corporate jargon and AI? Personality.
Real human content isn't overly polished or sanitized. It has a rhythm and cadence that's imperfect and relatable. It leans into vulnerability. It's not afraid to admit, "We missed the mark last quarter," or, "We're still figuring it out."
Another tell-tale sign of human content is language that mirrors how people actually talk. Scroll LinkedIn long enough and you'll see the difference. One post reads like a legal memo. The next opens with, "Dang, that launch flopped. Here's what we learned."
Guess which one people engage with?
Emotion and Contrast Make It Relatable
Human beings are layered. We're hopeful and anxious, confident and cautious. Great content reflects that.
A financial services company might say, "Our clients dream of early retirement, but many still lie awake at night wondering if they've saved enough." That kind of emotional contrast feels real... because it is.
When you write with that kind of emotional intelligence, your audiences don't just understand what you're saying. They feel seen.
That emotional approach reflects your buyer's real-life experience. And that reflection creates trust.
And let's not forget about humor.
Humor is a powerful tool for making content more relatable and memorable. A line like "our new productivity app is so efficient, it'll give you enough free time to finally figure out what NFTs are," adds levity and shows personality.
Used wisely, humor can bridge the gap between brand and customer, making interactions feel more personal and enjoyable.
Think about your own buying behavior. You gravitate toward people and brands that "get you." Same with your prospects. Content that resonates emotionally sticks. And that drives conversions.
Cultural References and Idioms
Connecting with your audience means using language and examples they recognize.
Analogies like...
- "Our new project management system is like Netflix for tasks" uses cultural touchpoints that are instantly familiar and create a shared understanding
- "It's like Airbnb for carbon credits" uses industry-specific jargon and cultural cues that reinforce relevance
Stories That Stick
Storytelling is the heartbeat of human content. Why? Because stories are how we process and remember information.
Say you want to teach a lesson about communication failures. You could say: "Misalignment leads to lost deals."
Or you could tell the story: "We once lost a six-figure deal because we assumed the client was aligned. Turns out, we weren't even reading the same book."
The second example hits harder, and it's more likely to be remembered.
Here's the kicker: Your company is already full of stories. About lessons learned. Clients helped. Failures that sparked breakthroughs.
The trick is documenting them.
Embed at least one story in every piece of core content—blog posts, videos, emails, even product pages. Give your audience something to relate to. Something they'll talk about later.
It's like adding a sticky note to their brain. And when that moment of need hits, they'll remember you.
Imperfect, Conversational, and Real
Most AI-generated content still feels stiff and too perfect. Like it was run through a grammar checker and stripped of all personality.
But here's the thing: Humans are quirky. We ramble a little. We go off on tangents. We drop the occasional "heck" or "dang." And we connect through those imperfections.
A sentence like, "I'm no Steve Jobs (heck, I can barely operate my smartphone some days), but I've learned a thing or two about innovation," immediately feels more human.
Human content also has a natural rhythm. It blends short, punchy lines with longer reflections. It embraces repetition to hammer home a point:
- We innovate to solve problems.
- We innovate to create value.
- We innovate because that's what leaders do.
That cadence keeps readers hooked.
The Future Belongs to the Most Human Brands
Here's the reality: AI is getting good. Scary good. And in a few years, it'll be nearly impossible to tell whether any post was written by a robot or a real person.
That's exactly why human content matters more than ever.
Your brand must signal—clearly and repeatedly—"There's a real person behind this. Someone who gets you. Someone who can help."
Because in a sea of sameness, trust becomes your ultimate differentiator.
Human content builds that trust. It shows empathy. It communicates values. And it creates emotional equity long before a sales conversation ever starts.
The most trusted brands of the next decade won't win because they publish the most content.
They'll win because they sound the most human.
Note: This article was adapted from ENDLESS CUSTOMERS: A Proven System to Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Become the Market Leader (Wiley, 2025).
More Resources on Human Content in the Generative AI Era
AI Belongs in Your Marketing Toolkit, but Save Space for Humanity, Too
'Human-Ready Marketing': The Power of Human-AI Synergy
Publications Don't Want Your AI-Generated Content
How Marketers Are Getting AI All Wrong (And What to Do About It)
