Something has changed in professional services marketing. It’s not just the use of AI in copywriting, but exactly how AI is used in copywriting.
Take a look at the thought leadership of a law firm, an accountancy firm, a consultancy, or a financial advisory business and you will probably notice it. Different firms. Different people. Different strengths.
But the same voice.
Polished. Competent. Safe. And almost impossible to tell apart.
AI copywriting tools have made it easier than ever to produce content at scale. But in doing so they have introduced a new risk that AI, by definition, is unable to address: the erosion of distinctiveness and authenticity.
The rise of sameness in AI-generated copywriting
AI copywriting tools are trained on huge datasets of existing content. They identify patterns and reproduce them – quickly. This is what makes them so useful for speed and structure. But it also means that ideas tend to converge, language becomes standardised, and tone becomes homogenised.
The result is content that reads well but says very little that is new. It is grammatically correct, logically structured, smoothly written…and largely forgettable.
Why this matters more in professional services
In many sectors, content is a support function. It’s a way to stay visible and drive traffic. But in professional services, it plays a much more important role.
Your content reflects your expertise. It’s a signal of credibility. A driver of trust before a prospect has ever spoken to anyone in your firm. A prospective client reading your material is likely to be thinking, whether they realise it or not: do these people sound like they understand my world? Can they think differently about the issues we deal with? Can I trust their judgement?
If your content sounds interchangeable with the firm two clicks away, the answers to those questions are unlikely to go in your favour.
The strategic risk in AI copywriting
The commercial consequences of homogenised content are not theoretical. When multiple firms in the same space rely heavily on AI-generated material, differentiation declines. And when differentiation declines, buyer confidence tends to follow. Decisions that should be made on the basis of expertise, relationships, and authentic understanding instead start to focus on price. And that’s a difficult position to recover from.
That doesn’t mean firms should reject the use of AI in copywriting. But they should use it thoughtfully by fully understanding what it can and cannot do – and where human expertise still needs to lead.
A better question
The discussion about “should we use AI in our copywriting?” is largely settled. The more important question is: how do we use AI in our copywriting without losing what makes us distinctive?
This is the challenge a growing number of professional services firms are grappling with. And where a more deliberate, expert-led approach to content becomes critical.
What do you think? Am I being over-critical of AI, or is there still a place for human nuance, skill and judgment in copywriting?