Insight
Court
AI is no longer a buzzword. It’s infrastructure. It’s embedded across industries, from marketing to medicine, logistics to legal, quietly transforming the way we work. According to McKinsey, 78% of companies now use AI in at least one business function, meaning it’s not on the sidelines anymore, it’s in the core workflow.
But for all that progress, there’s still a lingering discomfort. While adoption is up, trust isn’t keeping pace.
Just 26% globally believe organisations are using it responsibly. In other words: we don’t doubt that AI is powerful. What we doubt is how it will be used, how it will behave, and how it will make us feel.
That’s the shift that too few product teams are acknowledging: capability is no longer the differentiator, behaviour is.
We’ve seen what AI can do. That’s not the exciting part anymore. What matters now is how it shows up. Is it pushy or respectful? Is it clear or vague? Does it feel like a cold tool, or a competent collaborator?
It’s about designing something that fits into a human workflow. So let’s reframe the question. If your AI product were a team member, would you want to work with it? Would it help you think more clearly? Would it stay quiet when needed? Would it speak with confidence, not condescension? Could you trust it with clients?
These aren’t just UX questions, but brand questions. And that’s where branding needs to step up, not as decoration, but as a strategic tool for emotional design. The interface isn’t just visual anymore. It’s tonal, behavioural and relational.
We’re entering a phase where brand behaviour is what defines whether people will adopt and stick with AI tools. Because AI isn’t something we just use anymore, it’s something we interact with, continuously.
The tone of voice becomes the handshake, transparency becomes the safety net and the emotional intelligence becomes the differentiator.
They’ll be the ones that feel trustworthy, useful, and good to have around.
So before launching a new feature or shipping a product update, ask yourself the real question:
Would I want this AI on my team? If the answer’s no, your users probably feel the same.
