AI Didn't Invent Bad B2B Content

Why more content doesn’t equal better thought leadership

There’s lots of talk these days about “AI Slop,” and those of us in marketing communications should be wary of cranking out bland, unoriginal content that is inauthentic and forgettable.

Too often, I see content that looks authoritative at first glance but, on closer inspection, says very little.

But AI didn't create this problem.

Long before AI Slop entered our vernacular, business communications were already littered with lazy buzzwords. Over the years, I've laughed and cringed with colleagues at the overuse of these catchphrases.

Welcome to “LinkedIn Speak”

Recently, I discovered that Kagi Translate offers “LinkedIn Speak” as one of its language options. It takes ordinary language and translates it into a recognizable LinkedIn format, complete with all the predictable buzzwords, declarations, and corporate-speak.

It's funny because it's so recognizable.

Here’s a Kagi Translate example:

𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡: 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤: 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘦-𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵. 🚀 𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘭𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘤 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦. 📈

We probably all have terms or expressions that trigger some eye-rolling or teeth-gnashing.

Mine is “bias for action,” which Kagi helpfully translates as: “I'm just making it up as I go and hoping nobody notices I have no idea what I'm doing.” 

Having Something Worthwhile to Say

But there's a more serious point behind the joke. AI has made it extraordinarily easy to produce polished, professional-sounding content at scale. That makes it even easier to say a lot without saying very much.

For expertise-driven firms, that's a particular risk. Thought leadership should demonstrate how your people think, not simply prove that you can publish content.

AI can be an incredibly useful tool for research, brainstorming, editing, and improving communications. I incorporate it into my own work where it adds value. But it shouldn't replace an original idea, a distinctive point of view, or the judgment that gives expertise its value.

As producing content becomes easier, having something worthwhile to say becomes more important.

Let’s start a conversation

Whether you’re launching a new service, repositioning your firm, strengthening thought leadership, or exploring fractional marketing leadership, I’d welcome the opportunity to learn more about your goals.

Scott Sutton advises expertise-led organizations on marketing strategy, thought leadership, and market visibility.