It’s a question I hear more and more from firms and businesses experimenting with ChatGPT and other AI tools: “This is useful, but it doesn’t sound like us.”

And that’s completely fair.

The explosion of generative AI has made content creation faster, easier, and more accessible. However, it’s also led to a wave of generic blogs, templated LinkedIn posts, and copy that could come from anywhere.

So can AI really create marketing content that reflects your firm’s tone of voice, values and expertise?

The short answer: yes, but not on its own.

AI is a tool, not a solution

First, it’s important to remember what AI tools like ChatGPT are designed to do. They generate content based on patterns, not original thought. They don’t know your clients, your sector, your internal politics or your goals.

On their own, they’ll create something that’s grammatically sound and technically competent. However, it will often be safe, surface-level and not quite right.

Used thoughtfully, though, AI can be a powerful asset in your content process. The key is understanding where it excels and where it falls short.

Where AI can help your marketing team

When used effectively, AI can transform your content creation process by:

• Speeding up initial drafts for blogs, case studies, bios, summaries and proposals. Instead of staring at a blank page for an hour, you can have a solid foundation to work from in minutes.
• Creating content structures and generating headline options. If you’re struggling with how to organise a complex piece or need fresh angles on a topic, AI can provide multiple approaches to consider.
• Transforming existing content into different formats. That detailed report can become a series of LinkedIn posts, an email newsletter, or even talking points for a webinar.
• Brainstorming ideas when your team is stretched thin. When you’re managing multiple campaigns and deadlines, AI can help generate fresh content ideas or approaches you might not have considered.
• Providing senior-level support for junior team members. Smaller firms often don’t have the budget for experienced marketing directors, but AI can help bridge that gap by offering strategic guidance and quality improvements.

In professional services, where fee earners are busy and marketers often juggle strategy, execution and reporting, these time savings can be transformational. You can focus your human expertise on the areas that truly matter rather than getting bogged down in first drafts and initial research.

Where AI falls short

However, AI isn’t ready to replace skilled marketers. There are three key areas where it typically struggles:

1. Tone of voice authenticity. AI-generated content often lacks the nuance of your firm’s specific tone, whether that’s formal, conversational, warm or direct. It tends to default to a middle-of-the-road approach that doesn’t reflect your personality or brand.
2. Depth of genuine insight. While AI can summarise public knowledge effectively, it cannot offer your firm’s unique perspective, approach, or lived experience with clients. It doesn’t understand your methodology, your track record of success, or the specific challenges your clients face.
3. True audience understanding. AI can’t speak directly to the challenges, language or priorities of your specific target sectors without clear, detailed human input. It doesn’t know that your manufacturing clients are concerned about supply chain resilience or that your healthcare contacts are navigating new regulatory changes.

This is where things can feel “off” even when the content looks polished on the surface. The writing might be technically correct, but it lacks the authenticity and relevance that builds trust with your audience.

How to make AI content sound like you

This is where a clear, strategic content framework makes all the difference.

The most successful firms I work with have developed comprehensive guidelines that include:

• Your positioning statement. What do you want to be known for in the market? This goes beyond your services to encompass your approach, your values, and your unique perspective on industry challenges.
• Your key insights and perspectives. What does your firm uniquely know or believe? This might be your methodology for solving client problems, your predictions about industry trends, or your philosophy about client relationships.
• Your communication style and tone. How do you express your expertise in a way that’s clear, accessible and distinctive? This includes everything from formality levels to industry jargon usage and personality traits.
• Your target audience’s specific needs and language. What are their biggest challenges? How do they describe these problems? What solutions are they actively seeking?

When you define these elements upfront and use them to guide your AI tools, the output gets significantly closer to your authentic voice and message. You stop sounding like every other firm and start sounding like yourself.

Practical steps for using AI effectively

If your firm is starting to use AI tools for content creation, here are specific steps to improve quality and consistency:

• Develop a comprehensive tone of voice guide that includes examples of your best existing content. Upload this as a reference document that AI can draw from consistently.
• Create a prompt library for different content types. Develop specific templates for blogs, LinkedIn posts, case studies, and proposals that include your key messaging and style preferences. If you’re not sure what to put sometimes I ask ChatGPT to help me write the prompts to use in ChatGPT!
• Always start with a clear brief. Instead of asking AI to “write a blog about employment law”, provide specific angles, target audience details, and key messages you want to communicate.
• Establish a review process that pairs junior team members with someone who understands your firm’s strategy and client needs. This ensures AI-generated content is properly refined before publication.
• Treat AI as your starting point, not your endpoint. Use it to overcome the blank page problem, then invest human expertise in adding insights, examples, and personality that reflect your firm’s unique value.
• Test and refine your approach. Track which AI-generated content performs well with your audience and use those insights to improve your prompts and processes.

Remember: AI is only as good as the guidance and context you provide. The more specific and strategic your input, the better your output will be.

The bottom line

AI isn’t going anywhere, and for busy firms, it offers serious potential to streamline content creation and support marketing efforts.

However, if you want your content to build trust, reflect your expertise and stand out in a crowded marketplace, you need more than a prompt and a click.

With the right framework, clear guidelines and human oversight, AI can support genuinely great content that serves your business goals. But sounding like you still starts with understanding who you are, what you stand for, and how you want to be perceived in the market.

The firms that get this balance right will find AI to be a powerful ally in their marketing efforts. Those that don’t risk blending into the background noise of generic, AI-generated content that fails to connect with their target audience or differentiate their expertise.

Need help?
If you would like help with your marketing, bringing on a marketing consultant with a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. I work with B2B businesses and professional service firms in London, Kent, the UK, and Europe, specialising as a legal marketing consultant. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.

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