I empower leaders with AI Workshops & B2B digital strategy | LinkedIn Top Voice | Public Speaker | Board Director | Podcaster🎙️

AI won’t replace communicators, but communicators who use AI will define the future.

The communications industry is evolving faster than most teams are prepared for. Those who integrate AI today, ethically, strategically, and confidently, will lead tomorrow’s conversations.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻.

I help PR and communications leaders future-proof their teams with practical, hands-on AI strategy. Through custom workshops, audits, and advisory programs, I bridge the gap between curiosity and capability, showing teams how to integrate AI into real-world workflows without losing the human voice that makes communications powerful.

I’ve trained and advised leaders across a variety of organizations like Ragan, MacMillan Publishing, Penguin Random House, PPG, etc., helping them build AI readiness, sharpen strategy, and unlock new efficiencies in content, reputation, and storytelling.

If your team wants to:
✅ Use AI responsibly, with clear governance and guardrails
✅ Build workflow efficiencies that actually stick
✅ Strengthen credibility in an AI-driven media landscape

Then 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸. Visit chrisgee.me
or send me a message here on LinkedIn.

Don't wait to future-proof your team.

Chris Gee

Communicators used to write for journalists.

Now we also have to write for 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘂𝘀.

If your message falls apart when AI condenses it to three sentences, you have a problem.

This week I found myself saying the same thing in two different conversations with communications leaders.

More and more often, 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆.

They are reading 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁.

AI assistants, search tools, and productivity platforms are increasingly acting as intermediaries. They scan long documents, extract key points, and present condensed answers to busy executives, journalists, and stakeholders.

Which means communicators now have a new challenge.

Your message has to survive 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

If the essence of your story disappears when an AI compresses it into three sentences, you have a problem.

I mentioned this a couple times this week and realized it was worth sharing more broadly.

So in tomorrow’s, this Prompt of the Week is designed to help you test exactly that.

Use it to pressure test whether your message still holds together once an AI system distills it down.

Because communicators used to focus on how journalists interpreted our stories.

Now we also need to think about how 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁.

Curious if others are already thinking about this.

Are you designing messages that survive AI summaries?

Helping PR & Comms leaders future-proof with AI strategy | Speaker + Trainer | Keynotes + Workshops | Ragan Advisor

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We may be approaching the saturation point for synthetic content.
We tend to assume technology spreads exponentially until it becomes ubiquitous. That’s the default narrative... 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱.

The data suggests something more complex is happening with synthetic content on social media.

AI-generated supply is rising quickly across platforms. At the same time, we’re seeing more labeling systems, more “see less AI” controls, and a sharp increase in public conversation about “AI slop” (9x year-over-year growth in usage of that term).

In one YouTube-focused estimate, between 21–33% of a new user’s Shorts feed may already be AI-generated or low-value synthetic content.

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀.

That combination matters.

When supply rises faster than trust, friction emerges.

This doesn’t mean AI content disappears. It means it meets resistance.

The research outlines three possible paths:
1️⃣ Continued acceleration
2️⃣ A plateau where synthetic content becomes common but less effective
3️⃣ Or a trust feedback loop where audiences shift toward verified creators and authenticity signals

We are already seeing early signs of an “authenticity premium,” where content that signals human authorship or limited AI use outperforms baseline synthetic volume in certain categories.

And there’s something deeper here.

Humans are biologically wired for social connection. We rely on faces, voice, and perceived intent as trust shortcuts. 

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆.

This isn’t anti-AI.

It’s a reminder that adoption curves bend when they collide with human psychology.

AI content will continue to grow. But growth does not automatically equal acceptance.

For communicators, the question is no longer “How much AI can we use?”

It becomes:
→ Where does AI enhance experience?
→ Where does it erode trust?
→ Where does authenticity become a differentiator?

𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁.

Curious how others are seeing this play out in their campaigns and feeds.

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The story around “AI layoffs” is no longer just a business headline.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸.

Across industries, executives are framing workforce reductions as AI-driven, even when their AI deployments are still early and delivering limited automation gains.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

When people hear “AI layoffs,” they don’t hear restructuring or strategic pivot. They hear replacement. And that perception creates a breach of trust that lingers far longer than the headlines.

💡 This is where communications leadership matters.

A few principles are critical:

✅ Name the real drivers. If it’s cost optimization or a strategic shift, 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. Don’t oversell AI as the scapegoat.
✅ Ground the change in human agency. Explain what is evolving in the work 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺.
✅ Lead with capability building. Show investment in reskilling, mobility, and support systems.

The perception of an event can be more consequential than the event itself.

𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀.

How are leaders navigating these comms in your organization? 

Let me know in the comments! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

We keep talking about AI as if it’s about to replace most white-collar workers.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Researchers recently constructed what they called a “Remote Labor Index,” testing AI agents across 240 real freelance projects spanning architecture, graphic design, video production, marketing assets, and game development.

🚫 Not toy prompts.
🚫 Not lab simulations.
✅ Real deliverables companies actually paid for.

Across more than 6,000 hours of paid work worth over $140,000, the best AI agent automated about 2.5 percent of the work. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟯 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁.

🚫 45.6% failed on quality
🚫 17.6% produced corrupted files
🚫 14.8% included inconsistencies
🚫 35.7% produced incomplete work

These weren’t minor glitches, they were breakdowns.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄.

Yes, you can re-engineer the hammer.
You can keep pouring money into improving it.
But it’ll never be as effective as a $15 screwdriver. 

They have totally different strengths and are meant to solve totally different problems. 

Global AI infrastructure investment is already in the hundreds of billions annually, with projections reaching into the trillions over the next decade.

But if the best systems can only automate 2–3 percent of real-world creative and knowledge work, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

The math just ain’t math-ing.

The real opportunity is not wholesale worker replacement. It’s building the ideal human co-pilot.

✅ AI excels at narrow tasks.
✅ It accelerates drafting, summarizing, iteration.
🚫 But it struggles with end-to-end ownership and messy coordination.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

The real win re: AI?

💪🏽 Human judgment + AI speed.
💪🏽 Human accountability + AI leverage.

Maybe the future isn’t about building the perfect hammer.

Maybe it’s about recognizing when the screwdriver already works better to drive screws? 🤷🏽

What do you think? Are we evaluating AI the wrong way? Let me know in the comments. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

I recently joined Monica Talan on her “𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘥 10 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴” podcast to talk about what’s actually changing in communications right now.

A few themes:

1️⃣ AI is exceptional at speeding up output. Slides, drafts, repurposing. That means our value moves to the 20 percent that drives real impact: judgment, empathy, and creativity.

2️⃣ Prompting matters. But imagination matters more. Models follow instructions. Humans decide what’s worth asking.

3️⃣ Agents are not automations. Automation is linear. Agents have autonomy. That difference is a real governance flag.

We also discussed how AI is accelerating the fractional model and why human connection becomes more valuable in a sea of synthetic content.

Just a short, 10-minute conversation. Check it out and let me know what you think! 

https://lnkd.in/ear2mzNT

AI can draft the slides.
But are we using it to think bigger?

AI expert Chris Gee breaks down where the real opportunity lives, where the risk sits, and how communicators can lead instead of react.

Get clear perspective on the future of comms in just 10 minutes...

I recently joined Monica Talan on her “If I Only Had 10 Minutes” podcast to talk about what’s actually changing in communications right now.

Not the hype.
The practical shifts.

A few themes:

The execution layer is being commoditized.
AI is exceptional at speeding up output. Slides, drafts, repurposing. That means our value shifts to the 20 percent that drives real impact — judgment, positioning, risk, and context.

Creativity beats coding.
Prompting matters. But imagination matters more. Models follow instructions. Humans decide what’s worth asking.

Agents are not automations.
Automation is linear. Agents have autonomy. That difference isn’t technical — it’s governance.

We also discussed how AI is accelerating the fractional model and why human connection becomes more valuable in a sea of synthetic content.

Short conversation. Big implications.

https://lnkd.in/ear2mzNT

The AI debate is stuck on the wrong premise.
Instead of asking “Will AI replace workers?” we may need to ask something more uncomfortable.
What happens if there simply 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁?

Let's look at the demographics.

Across the developed world — and increasingly in the United States — populations are aging rapidly. Birth rates are falling. Labor force growth is slowing.

The constraint may not be too many workers displaced by AI.

It may be too few workers available without it.

Think about the math:

• The U.S. fertility rate is around 1.6 births per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1.
• By 2034, adults 65+ will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history.
• The worker-to-retiree ratio continues to shrink, placing pressure on productivity.

That creates a different framing.

AI isn’t just a cost-cutting technology.

It may become a demographic stabilizer.

Automation in:

• healthcare
• logistics
• software development
• design
• marketing production
• research

...could partially offset structural labor shortages rather than cause mass unemployment.

In other words:

The biggest economic impact of AI might not be replacing workers.

It might be helping societies function with fewer of them.

We may look back and realize the real question was never:

“Will AI take jobs?”

It was:

“Could our economies keep growing without it?”

Curious how others see this.
Are we underestimating the demographic side of the AI story?

Instead of asking “Will AI replace workers?” we may need to ask something more uncomfortable.
What happens if there simply 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁?

Let's look at the demographics.

Across the developed world — and increasingly in the United States — populations are aging rapidly. Birth rates are falling. Labor force growth is slowing.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗜.
𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁.

A few numbers to consider: 

📉 The U.S. fertility rate is 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟭.𝟲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻, well below the replacement rate of 2.1.
📉 By 2034, 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝟲𝟱+ 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.
📉 The 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿-𝘁𝗼-𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸, placing pressure on productivity.

Based on those numbers, we may be looking at this the wrong way. 

Automation in:
→ Healthcare
→ Logistics
→ Software development
→ Design
→ Marketing production
→ Research

Could partially offset structural labor shortages rather than cause mass unemployment.

In other words:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

We may look back and realize the real question was never:

“Will AI take jobs?”

It was:

“Could our economies keep growing without it?”

Curious how others see this. 🤔

Are we afraid of the wrong thing regarding AI? 

Let me know in the comments. 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

𝗔𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆-𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.

A federal judge in the Southern District of New York just issued a ruling that should get the attention of anyone using AI for strategy work.

In this case, a defendant used Anthropic’s Claude to help think through a legal defense. When federal agents seized the AI outputs, he argued they should be protected under attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱.

The key reason: the AI interaction happened outside the direction of his attorneys. Claude is not a lawyer, and its terms of service state that user prompts may be used to train the model and may be shared with authorities. Because of that, the judge ruled there was no reasonable expectation of confidentiality.

In other words, the AI conversation was discoverable.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸.

The legal system runs on relationships, responsibility, and accountability. None of those concepts map neatly onto a chat interface.

There are a few broader implications here.

1️⃣ First, AI prompts are not automatically private. If you are using public AI tools to think through strategy, assume those interactions could become part of a record.

2️⃣ Second, AI is not a substitute for privileged relationships. Legal protections rely on a human relationship and a clear expectation of confidentiality.

3️⃣ Third, this reinforces something many organizations are still catching up to: AI governance is not just about productivity. It’s about risk management.

If teams are using generative AI to explore sensitive strategy, litigation risk, or internal planning, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱.

The takeaway isn’t “don’t use AI.”

It’s understand that how you use it changes the legal and reputational context around the work you produce.

Curious how others are thinking about this as AI becomes embedded in more professional workflows. Let me know in the comments! 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Victoria Tollossa, MBA

Director of Marketing 

Most leaders know their personal brand matters.
Few treat it like the strategic business asset it actually is.

In today’s Trust Economy, your reputation arrives before you do.
Your presence shapes perception.
Your voice influences revenue, recruiting, partnerships, investor confidence, and the way people respond to your company.

The problem is:
Most leaders aren’t showing up in a way that reflects the level of their work.

They’re credible, but not visible.
Experienced, but hard to find online.
Respected offline, but underrepresented in the digital world where decisions are increasingly made.

That’s where we come in.

At Illume, we help modern leaders turn their personal brand into a strategic business asset — one that strengthens trust, accelerates opportunity, and moves your company forward.

My approach blends narrative strategy, psychology, and social media to help leaders:

• articulate a clear, compelling story
• communicate with authority and humanity
• build trust at scale through their digital presence
• strengthen company reputation and influence
• convert visibility into meaningful business outcomes

I’ve built brands across Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, and professional services firms.

Whether through full-service brand management, strategic consulting, or AI-powered tools that help leaders gain clarity and consistency, my work centers one belief:

Your personal brand is strategic leverage.
And when used well, it becomes one of the most powerful assets in your business.

If you’re ready to build a personal brand that actually drives results (not just noise) let’s connect.

Founder & CEO

Victoria Tollossa

When I was little, kids called me a monkey and told me to go back to Africa. 

One moment stands out vividly. 

I was walking out of my apartment building, probably around seven years old, and a boy yelled those words from across the yard.

Kids were everywhere. Talking, playing, doing their own thing. 
But his words cut through all that noise. 
And everyone turned around to look at me.

I was mortified, scared and embarrassed.
I just wanted to disappear.

And for the longest time, that's exactly what I did.

As a mixed-race kid in Soviet Ukraine, I was literally the only one who looked like me. Until I moved to the US, I had only met one other black kid, and even that was briefly in daycare.

I grew up wanting to be more like everyone else.
For years, I thought being different was a liability.

But the thing no one tells you: the more you try to fit in, the more you lose parts of who you are.

Then I moved to America.

I remember walking into my school on the third day after landing in DC.

The majority of the kids looked like me.

Wow... I was floored. Amazed. Excited. Scared. Grateful.

But one emotion stood out above the rest: I felt seen.

That moment cracked something open.

Seeing myself reflected in others gave me permission to stop shrinking.

What made me different became what made me powerful.

It took time. It took work. It took unlearning YEARS of making myself smaller.

But once I stopped hiding who I was, everything changed. 
My confidence, my relationships, my career.

That's why I'm so passionate about personal branding.

At its core, it's not about visibility or marketing.

It's about giving yourself permission to be fully seen.

I help people stop hiding professionally.

The world doesn't need another copy.
It needs you.

I help leaders turn their personal brand into a business asset | Grammy-Nominated Storyteller ft. in Fortune, Inc & Entrepreneur | CEO @ Illume

Why is everyone on LinkedIn suddenly writing like they're in 3rd grade?

no caps. no punctuation. misspelling obvious wordz 🤔 

I saw a post yesterday that read like a teen text message from 2008.

Why?

All in the name of being “more human.”

Which actually makes sense.

AI writes flawlessly.
AI structures perfectly.
AI sounds polished.

And increasingly… generic.

Perfection is now free. Just open ChatGPT and voila!

So when polish becomes commoditized, imperfection becomes currency.

And now we’re seeing a new strategy:

Manufactured sloppiness to prove humanity.

Here’s what’s actually happening, though.
We’re watching a cultural swing.

Polished → Distrusted.
Messy → “Authentic.”

But I think we’re missing something.

Deliberate imperfection is still performance.
It’s just a different aesthetic.

Typos aren’t humanity.

Humanity is:
→ A point of view that feels earned.
→ Stories that feel lived.
→ A voice that stays consistent over time.

Humanity has depth.

Today, the winners won’t be the most polished.
Or the most chaotic.

They’ll be the most coherent.

When everyone can manufacture content at scale (including manufactured rawness) people stop trusting polish and performance.

They trust depth.

So before you delete your punctuation in the name of authenticity, ask yourself:

Is this actually you?

Or are you just wearing a different mask?


______
As always, keep it human ✌ 
If this resonated, follow along.

Some of the people who trust me most have never met me in person.

Think about that.

We've been taught that trust is built through handshakes, eye contact, and face-to-face conversations.

But that model is outdated.

Today, when our workforce spans continents and business happens online, trust doesn't require proximity anymore.

So how do you build it digitally?

The same way you build it offline.

Think about the top 5 people you trust most in your life.

They probably know your dreams, your fears, your failures.
They know what you do for fun.
They know your quirks.

We trust the people who know us.

And that's the key.

Online, you have to let people get to know you.

Now, before I get stoned in my comments, I'm not saying share what you ate for breakfast or your kid's recital.

This isn't about oversharing.

It's about sharing what you stand for.
Your values.
Your professional philosophies.
What motivates you.
What you've learned.

That's how you build trust-based connections at scale.

When we have endless choices, trust is what sets you apart.

Yes, visibility gets you noticed. But, trust gets you chosen.

Stop thinking your work will speak for itself. It won’t.
Not in 2026. Not in this economy.

For a long time, it did.

In the late 20th century, knowledge was power.
➡️ You got ahead by being the expert in the room.
Degrees, titles, résumés. That was your currency.

In the early 2000s, it shifted to relationships.
➡️ Who you knew.
➡️ Who would vouch for you.
Networks became leverage.

Then came the social era.
➡️ Visibility changed the game.
➡️ If people knew of you, opportunity followed.

Today, we’re deep in the Attention Economy.
➡️ It’s not just what you know.
➡️ It’s not even who you know.
➡️ It’s who knows YOU.

But that model is cracking.

AI is accelerating the shift fast.

Anyone can generate a polished résumé.
Anyone can manufacture content at scale.
Anyone can look sharp, sound smart, appear credible.

And that’s exactly the problem.

When everyone and everything looks polished,
it all starts to feel the same.

It becomes generic, over-produced and not quite real.

This is when trust erodes and you don't quite know if you can trust what you're seeing/hearing. 

Which means attention alone is no longer enough.

We’re moving into something bigger:

The Trust Economy.

➡️ Attention without trust will be empty.
➡️ Views won’t equal influence.
➡️ Followers won’t equal credibility.

In the Trust Economy, the real question becomes:

“Do people believe you?”

And this "belief" isn’t built through polish.

It’s built through full self-expression.
Through clarity.
Through the unmistakable signals of a HUMAN voice.

So, when performance and polish become replicable, our humanity is the only differentiator.

Let's keep it human ✌

Every executive I work with wants to always somehow "sanitize" their brand.

"Oh this feels too personal."
"I don't want to share that."
"What will people think?"

And I get it...

At first, I thought it was just fear of visibility.

But it's WAY deeper than that.

We've been conditioned our entire lives to perform.

Performance = worth.
Polished = safe.
Sanitized = accepted.

So we show up as the curated version of ourselves. 
The version that hides the messy, complicated, fully human parts.

But here's the wake-up call:

AI is about to commoditize perfection.

Anyone can be polished now. Just open ChatGPT or Claude.

So if your self-worth is tied to performance... what happens when performance becomes free?

This won't just be a branding problem anymore. 
This is an identity crisis waiting to happen. 
But, I digress...

The point is, the old playbook is breaking. 
And the new currency isn't polish.

It's trust. It's depth. It's the stuff you can't fake.

I know because I've lived both sides.

In the music industry, I succumbed. I let the system shape me into what it wanted. I lost parts of myself in the process.

When I started building my brand on LinkedIn, the pull was the same. I wanted to polish and perform again.

But this time, I chose differently. I worked through it.

And here's what I've seen when executives do the same:

Not only do they build brands that connect deeper, they become better leaders.

The walls that block authenticity in your content are the same walls that block connection with your teams.

So the question isn't whether you're building a personal brand.

It's whether you're building YOU, or a performance.

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