Beyond the Bot: How to Safeguard Trust as AI Content Fatigue Hits

If there’s one thing my fellow B2B content specialists and I love to do, it’s bad-mouth AI. “It sounds terrible,” we love to scoff. “Complete mush.” And when generative tools burst into public view in 2023, I was no exception. People would beam, forwarding their latest AI drafts with pride, and I’d stare at the screen thinking, “Errr… ok.”

But the times, they are a-changing. AI has gotten exponentially better at crafting copy, and has crept into even the staunchest deniers’ workflows, from first-draft brainstorming to SEO research. In fact, research by CoSchedule estimates that 85% of marketers use AI tools for content creation.

That's great news, right? After all, B2B buyers love content to fill their informational needs as they move through the purchase process, so more content must equal better. From where I'm sitting, my perspective is: yes it's great news - with caveats.

Because now, as B2B content marketers, we're facing a fresh challenge: AI content fatigue.

Really, AI content fatigue? Yes, really

The signs are there.

I'm starting to hear more reports of senior executives hand-waving away an AI-generated blog draft as “generic and uninspired”, or openly questioning its credibility as they pick up hallucinated facts that the marketing team hasn't picked up in their rush to get the piece published. On social media, you’ll spot comments like “thanks to ChatGPT for the contribution 😒”: complete eyerolls at formulaic copy. Humans excel at pattern recognition, some more than others, and many of us have already hit AI content fatigue. The rest will follow in time.

There is even research to back this up. A recent study by Nielsen found that more than 60% of diverse respondents can detect AI-generated content, and this often results in negative sentiment. As audiences grow adept at spotting boilerplate phrasing, brands risk eroding the very trust they’ve spent years building.

Worse still, search engines are starting to turn up their nose at AI content, particularly when it's flagged as unoriginal. Google’s E-A-T signals (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) now carry more weight than sheer word count or keyword stuffing. AI-only volumes, without human nuance, can end up buried or deprioritised.

Where AI earns its keep in the B2B funnel

AI can - and should - have a well-earned place in every marketing team. For content, I'd position it as the junior team member; someone who is still learning the ropes of strategic content, but needs a steady guiding hand to get it right.

Let's break it down with this handy table:

Stage of Funnel	AI's Role	Human's Role
Top (Awareness)	SEO headlines, subject line testing, content repurposing	Light editing, brand voice tuning
Middle (Consideration)	Drafting support for blogs, briefs	Injecting expertise, proof points, nuance
Bottom (Decision)	Structured input (e.g. case study framework)	Deep insight, storytelling, trust-building

AI shines brightest in the early stages of a B2B funnel, when volume and speed matter most. For awareness campaigns, it can whip up SEO-friendly headlines from trending topics and A/B-test subject lines in minutes. That agility explains why 64% of marketers in the CoSchedule research say that AI-assisted copy matched or even beat human-only writing on reach and engagement. In fact, I'd be surprised if it didn't outperform human copy to engage with algorithms - because that's specifically what it's been trained to do.

However as prospects move deeper toward purchase, the metrics change. Impressions, likes and click-through rates give way to webinar sign-ups, content downloads and, ultimately, a closed deal. Algorithms and bots don't make buying decisions. People do.

So while AI does a great job of signalling to your audience at the top of the funnel that "we're here, and we're capable", what matters far more beyond the awareness stage is our ability to persuade and earn the trust of key decision-makers. For complex B2B sales of six or seven figures, that's a relationship built over months or even years, and far too nuanced to capture with simple engagement stats. The ultimate measure of success is a prospect’s steady progression through your funnel, guided by genuine storytelling and sustained human connection with deep domain expertise.

Right now, no AI tool can replicate that. On the contrary, if you're feeding a member of the CXO bland, generic AI content, the trust you're trying to build is far more likely to evaporate.

Blending scale with authenticity

Let's be real: content-at-scale programs have their value, but they also need to be implemented with care and human oversight. We don't need a rigid checklist to keep AI honest. A simple three-step rhythm works just as well:

1. Draft with data: Use AI to research keywords, structure outlines and sketch out first drafts.

2. Edit with empathy: Have a human work with the AI draft to minimise AI tells; check facts; then inject real-world examples, industry/regional nuances and brand voice. Let the AI do another final check for quality and alignment with the brief.

3. Review with rigour: Have a subject-matter expert or compliance lead give the final sign-off.

   
   

I’ve heard of teams that are crippled by over-automation - blogs that all blur together, webinars that feel sterile, whitepapers that quote nothing new. And yet I’ve also witnessed the opposite: content programs turbocharged by AI, freeing writers to dive into customer stories, interview executives and craft insights that resonate. It all comes down to the governance and execution.

I'm not here to bash AI. It’s a tool, and like any tool, its value depends on how you use it. In a market drowning in boilerplate, a well-timed human touch can feel like a breath of fresh air.

Need a hand with your AI content program?

If you’d like to balance scale with authenticity, we’re here to help. Explore our AI-enabled content creation products for quick wins, or book a discovery call to co-design, govern and execute a tailored AI content strategy that puts your brand’s human spark front and centre.