Series 2 Episode 3: In the AI age, is authenticity enough?
There's a lot of buzz around the importance of being "authentic", but what is it in practice? And does it work?
As AI-generated depictions begin to look all but indistinguishable from the real thing (even when they’re untrue), what are the authenticity signals that can mark your own information out as genuine and believable? From Grok to Star Wars to live examples from the corporate web, we explore the contours of authenticity and trust in our present times – and offer practical advice on how corporate digital communicators can cut through.
Best practice examples
- Henkel integrates Glassdoor onto the Careers landing page
- New hand drawn illustrations/animations on the Hermés website are being discussed in design circles as an example of the trend for communicating in ways that seem more bespoke and human, or in other words: not AI generated
- Johnson & Johnson uses strongly worded press release headlines
- Netflix publishes in-depth, unscripted earnings interviews on YouTube
- Rio Tinto's report page: "Our ongoing journey to everyday respect"
- Ryanair's TikTok, featuring the CEO
References and resources
- Adam Mosseri’s comments on authenticity and the future of social media
- LSE on "the authenticity trap" and the signals that make CEO communications on LinkedIn really hit the mark
- A NYTimes 2026 predictions article which touches on authenticity in multiple ways
- Sathnam Sanghera at the Times: Why I'm never coming back to social media ("The innocence is gone")
- “According to global analysis, use of social media peaked in 2022 and has been steadily declining ever since”
Further reading
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