Interesting article in the Times this week about AI travel influencers, and how they’re starting to cramp the style of human influencers. (^Free gift article 🎁)

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Turns out, travel brands are happily investing thousands of dollars for lifelike avatars who essentially do the same job their human counterparts, without the cost of flying them around the world and putting them up in the lap of luxury.

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And it seems the followers are into it as well, fully aware that the personalities they’re getting advice from are totally synthetic.

My favorite example is Sama, the AI-generated flight attendant from Qatar Airways who shares photos from her “layovers” - here she is taking in the sights in Malta.

Sama has over 300k followers, they leave her comments too.

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The NYT article (and 200+ responses) show polarizing opinions on the trend - some lamenting the artificial nature of it all, others arguing it’s the proper realm for AI replacement.

I’m not one to celebrate the collapse of anyone’s livelihood — rather, it makes me think how, as consultants, it’s likely only a matter of time before we have AI “thought leaders” in all of our domains.

We’re already halfway there, based on all the AI-gen’d content you’re seeing.

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So, do I think it’s a doom-and-gloom march to the end of the road?

Not at all.

If your actual job is being a thought leader, then sure, I’d be a bit worried.

But for most of us, sharing our unique insights is just a means to an end.

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Remember that at the end of the day, we’re humans selling services to humans.

Yes, we’re consultants brought in to solve thorny business problems.

But what really breeds deep consulting relationships is a buyer in emotional pain…

Seeking help from someone who’s been there before…

And who can relieve your pain in a unique and sensible way.

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As long as we stay focused on that, there will always be a market for us.

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The bots can, and perhaps should, take the rest.

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💡

-Wes

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P.S. Last call for 2025 pricing on Headshots sprints!

If you think you'd might like to kick off the year getting your positioning and human-first value prop codified into a set of crisp visual assets, hit 'reply' and/or book a complimentary consult next week.

New pricing takes effect in January, but everything booked in December secures the 2025 rate.