Steve Stretton, Executive Creative Director for global marketing activation partner, HH Global, explores shifting attitudes towards AI and a new opportunity for brands that need to promote AI capabilities

Go back two years. Make that a year. Maybe six months.

AI was an 11-fingered, three-thumbed monster and a threat to our very existence. It would eat all our jobs and drink all our water.

To be honest, the threat still looms, ethical anxieties persist and AI slop is still seeping out. As a creative director, the replacement of real talent by AI versions would upset me deeply.

But it’s here. And right now, while you’re reading this, somebody somewhere near you is asking Chat GPT to help them unblock a drain or buy a used VW Polo.

There is widespread adoption. According to a survey by Techradar (published in September 2025), 40% of UK adults and 34% of US adults say they use generative AI at least once a day.

This growing comfort and curiosity gives marketers from tech companies an opening.

Like any other organization, they need to create brands. They need to be recognized. They need to be trusted.

And now, it’s become easier.

These brands are in people’s hands and pockets everyday, facilitating the minutiae of life.

Or they’re being used by writers, designers, art directors, producers to do anything from website copy to the creation of brand films.

Powered by AI apps, more smartphone users are becoming creators and editors, with almost half (48%) regularly using such features.

And this means that AI can be talked about comfortably.

Because it’s not a polarizing brand, it’s not a political party, it’s something most of us play with every day.

So there’s permission to shift the focus of communications from a defensive, hard sell of features to the practical and emotional benefits of AI. And that’s the essence of everything that brands have always tried to say.

License to change the conversation

As AI begins to permeate the daily lives of professionals and consumers, fear is being cast aside in favor of a more measured assessment of the pros and cons of the technology.

In the background there is a tonal change of conversation around the tech which brands are beginning to reflect in their campaigns, and necessarily so.

Unfathomable jargon which ran through copy as AI was first unveiled is being replaced with more informal language. Campaigns describe what AI can do for you, not what it does. Brands call on colloquial phrases and imagery to demonstrate how they’ll fit seamlessly into people’s lives.

It’s a more straightforward and more human approach that has propelled brands to first place in their sector since the dawn of the advertising industry.

In its recent campaign, OpenAI showcased ChatGPT user stories, expertly tapping into the mood change. The work is not techy, scientific or big brother. It looks and feels beautifully human.

Celebrating human and AI collaboration

It would be a surprise if we don’t see other AI providers following suit, testing lighter, more tongue-in-cheek communications that bring creative possibilities to the fore.

Spotify’s 2025 work around its AI-powered discovery tools follows the same spirit. Instead of talking about models, it shows people in small, funny moments where personalized mixes help solve social dilemmas. A roommate uses “Vibe Check” to settle a brewing argument about what to play at a shared dinner. A gym-goer uses an AI-built playlist to push through the final five minutes of a session. Each moment focuses on emotional ease rather than technical novelty.

Each moment makes advanced technology feel more intuitive, accessible and human.

It’s further acknowledgement that we’ve now reached the point of our AI journey where people are comfortable talking about the benefits, not the threat.

And maybe, just maybe, the three-thumbed monster has turned into something just a little more normal. Or dare I say, likeable.

Brands will continue building AI personality

There will be bumps in the creative roadmap, of course. A dystopian campaign for AI company Artisan promised to help businesses “stop hiring humans.” As much as we all love a bit of disruption, nobody needed that.

Brands must stay aware of the ongoing fear around workforce replacement when planning campaigns. There’s also a balance to be struck between developing the emotional side of AI advertising and continuing to communicate the diverse and best ways it can be used as platforms develop.

But, for the time being it feels as if wider AI adoption has freed up creative expression to talk up real life benefits. The tech brands are adopting classic storytelling to build brand personality that resonates with consumers.

And there’s something reassuringly old-fashioned about that.