How lazy AI language is diluting your brand
In a sea of ‘seamless integration’ and ‘innovative solutions’, account director at Balls2 Marketing and the Koobr group, Sarah Dufton, is calling out the fluff to remind the glazing industry what real marketing is made of.
Before I became a marketing strategist, I was a journalist. I spent a decade in magazine publishing, finding angles, chasing leads, and asking questions that got to the truth. That instinct has never left me.
Today, I use it to help glazing brands tell sharper, braver stories that actually make people care. And when they care, they convert.
There isn’t a day that passes where I don’t talk to a client or contact about AI. Content in seconds. Blogs by the dozen. Social calendar filled. Box ticked, job done. It’s so simple that anyone can generate it, even my eight-year-old, but my goodness can you spot it a mile off.
And that’s why businesses and brands need to pause the ChatGPT waffle before irreparable damage is done.
Because here’s the thing, if no one asked the right questions in the first place, all you’ll get out of AI is generic noise.
If you are pushing out comms and content full of vague phrases like “seamless integration”, “elevated experiences” and “innovative solutions” – especially if that’s fronted by an emoji and is littered with those trusty em dashes and Americanisms – take note. If your bi-fold doors can elevate your customers’ experiences, so could my moisturiser… mattress… or local pub.
If your marketing could be about anything, it says nothing. And guess what, your audience is judging you for it. The good news? There’s time to pull it back. We are in an unprecedented marketing landscape at the moment – and one that’s changing at a pace that both astounds and inspires me.
We work closely with manufacturers, fabricators, systems houses, installers and suppliers. Every business is different, but every kick-off meeting has a clear agenda, and my advice to our talented team is always the same. Dig deep. Challenge assumptions. Ask the obvious questions.
Then ask the difficult questions. Leave that meeting with a head full of knowledge that will get you to the ‘why’. Because underneath the spec sheets and the sales talk, there’s always something unique – but you don’t get to it by skimming the surface.
You get to it by asking: “What are your customers tired of hearing?”; “What would your competitors never dare to say?”; “What promises are you actually making, and more than that, how good are you at keeping them?”.
These are not questions AI can answer. It doesn’t know your sector. It doesn’t understand what your customers struggle with. It can’t listen. And it definitely can’t think strategically. Too often, I see businesses default to AI because they think it’s faster or cheaper. But what you gain in speed, you lose in clarity. Your messaging gets soft. Your voice fades. You get to a place where, suddenly, you sound just like everyone else.
That’s a huge risk in an industry like glazing, where the sales cycle is long, the margins are tight, and differentiation really matters.
Real marketing doesn’t come from templates. It comes from tension. From the moments when someone challenges your assumptions and helps you say something clearer and bolder: something your customers can get behind.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, yes, we use AI. It’s a useful tool. It often takes my concept brain dumps and client quizzes to consolidated facts and the beginnings of a killer idea. It also creates incredible pictures of our office dog, Sadie, sporting a head towel and ready for a spa day.
But it’s not your strategy. It’s not your voice. And it’s not going to find the story that sets your business apart.
