🤖Technology Is King, But the Em-Dash Is Concerning

How to Automate Lead Generation without frustrating customers with "AI noise"

35% of people are less likely to buy from brands that uses AI…

How to Scale Warmth, Not Just Workflows: Automation That Feels Like You

You want leads. Not spam. Not noise. But too often, automation sounds like a robot in a suit at best, and at worst, it just doesn’t make sense. What’s missing is the human touch. The solution isn't abandoning tech, it’s about using it to scale authenticity.

Automation works best when it preserves your voice and values but that doesn’t happen by accident. you must have strategy and intention.

So why do people still choose the local mom-and-pop shop over the massive brand with a global marketing team? It’s the relationship. The trust. The ability to know your customer on a deeper level, which supports the customer experience.

With more AI tools entering the chat, literally, it’s becoming a game for customers to identify what’s real and what’s synthetic. That tension creates opportunity for those to enter into the gap with transparency.

Let’s discuss a current growing trend that’s sure to impact your business operations and customer perceptions…

Customer Sentiment with GenAI

According to CivicScience¹, 35% of people are less likely to buy from brands that use AI in ads. At the same time, those who say they’re not at all concerned rose to 25%, up two points since last year.

That means three-quarters of U.S. adults still carry at least some concern about AI replacing workers or eroding trust.

In recent panels and digital sessions I’ve attended, this debate shows up in unexpected ways, like punctuation. One crowd favorite? The now-infamous em dash *lol*.

If you don't know what an Em dash is, see if you can find it in this generic ChatGPT script:

The em dash (—) is a long horizontal punctuation mark used to create emphasis, interruption, or separation in a sentence — It’s called em because its width is roughly the same as the capital letter “M” in traditional typesetting.

It replaces commas, parentheses, or colons when you want to add impact or indicate an abrupt shift in tone.

Use it sparingly — overuse dilutes its effect and makes writing feel disjointed. Stick to one or two per sentence, max.

Ironically, AI now warns users not to overuse the very thing it’s guilty of popularizing. Personally, I’ve always appreciated the em dash’s flexibility but lately, I’ve had to pull back. Not because it’s wrong, but because it risks signaling that my work is machine-generated instead of a product of “organic intelligence” [side thought: I like this word, maybe I should coin it?].

That’s where we are. Sentiment is cautious. Trust is conditional. Even punctuation has politics.

Marketing & Sales Implications

With the complexities of mixed public opinion, companies should err on the safe side by reassuring customers with transparency when GenAi is utilized.

If you’re using AI in any part of your business, the way you communicate that matters. Transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s brand protection and I believe we will start to see more regulation, including the possibility of legal disclaimers.

Customers want to know if they’re interacting with a bot or a human. They want clarity on what your business stands for, especially as automation grows more advanced.

This is the moment to lead with values. Show customers that your tech enhances service rather than replacing it. The key is combining automation with personal moments that feel real.

Take a moment today and think of how to foster personal moments of connection that complement your automation tactics and establish a strong customer-centric value system. Then think about how you can clearly communicate this in your company’s mission/vision and broadcast it across all your communication channels to inoculate your business against the growing suspicion of “AI noise”.

The Path Forward

My recommendation is that small businesses and large enterprises alike need to reevaluate their AI strategies. That means creating policies for how AI is used in HR, sales, marketing, and customer service. When used intentionally, AI shouldn’t just optimize processes, it should support human connection and in turn, bring more business.

Let’s look at proven ways to use automation in your lead funnel without losing the human-touch: