In the age of AI, B2B brands need to be more human

By Freya Hartley, Account Executive, Aspectus Group

As AI makes it easier than ever to produce content, audiences are becoming more selective about what they trust and engage with. This blog explores why people-led media formats such as podcasts, Reddit, and Substack are gaining influence, and what B2B brands can learn from this shift. In an increasingly automated content environment, the brands that stand out will be those that build genuine authority. 

For years, brands have been told that attention spans are shrinking. Make it shorter and snappier… stop the scroll… win the first three seconds… say less, but LOUDER.  

For a while, this did feel like the obvious direction of travel. TikTok boomed and Instagram reels followed, and brands built campaigns around fast, instantly digestible content. But recently, this narrative has begun to shift. 

Audiences are still scrolling, of course. But they are also choosing to spend time with much slower, more deliberate forms of media: podcasts, Reddit threads, and Substack newsletters, for example. Niche communities built around longer-form creator content. Formats that ask for more attention, not less. 

This feels slightly contradictory to marketing’s previous direction of travel, but it tells us something important about the shifting psychology of modern media consumption. People are not losing the ability to engage deeply, they are becoming more selective about what deserves their engagement.

Why is AI making people-led media more valuable? 

At a recent CIPR paid media panel I attended, one point kept coming up: audiences are being increasingly drawn to media that feels human.  

Part of this is likely a reaction to how AI has rapidly changed the content landscape. It’s now easier than ever to create a blog, social copy, or commentary. That creates obvious efficiencies for marketing teams, but it has also created a problem of chronic sameness. A lot of brand content is beginning to look and sound similar. As AI tools become part of how people search and make decisions, audiences place even greater value on content that feels clearly rooted in human judgment and lived expertise. 

In that environment, people-led formats stand out because they feel more personal, and therefore, more trustworthy. 

A podcast creates familiarity because you hear someone’s voice regularly and start to feel like you know them. As Varsity noted in its piece on the rise of podcast culture, listening to a person’s voice gives content a sense of intimacy that is difficult to recreate elsewhere. 

Substack offers a more direct relationship between writer and reader, away from the ‘noise’ of the feed. Marketing Dive has reported on brands experimenting with Substack and other editorial formats as part of a wider move toward authenticity and longer-term storytelling. Substack’s own figures show the platform now has more than 5 million paid subscriptions, underlining the appetite for direct, writer-led relationships outside traditional social feeds. 

Reddit gives people access to human discussion, which is exactly what makes it useful. The Guardian recently reported that Reddit has overtaken TikTok as the UK’s fourth most visited social media platform, with growth driven partly by younger users seeking out human-generated opinions and reviews. That is a clear signal that people do not just want content; they want context, judgment, and lived experience. 

This is especially relevant in an age of ‘AI slop’ – when generic content becomes easier to produce, genuinely useful human insight becomes invaluable. 

What does this have to do with B2B brands? 

It can be tempting to dismiss this as a consumer trend, as most B2B brands are not trying to become influencers. However, the psychology still applies; after all, B2B buyers are people too. They might be making decisions on behalf of a company, but they are still influenced by trust, familiarity, credibility, and relevance. They still want to know who is behind a business, what they believe, and whether they have the expertise to solve a real problem. 

In complex sectors, buying decisions are rarely quick. That means a brand’s reputation is not built in one place. It is built through a wider ecosystem of signals: media coverage, executive commentary, podcasts, LinkedIn, owned content, search visibility, events, and the conversations happening around the market. This is where PR and marketing need to work harder than ever, because visibility alone is not enough if it does not build trust. 

How can B2B brands apply this? 

BeThe answer is not to chase every platform, but to be more intentional about where your brand’s expertise shows up. 

That starts with spokespeople – B2B brands often have brilliant expertise inside the business, but it is hidden behind corporate messaging. A strong communications strategy brings those people forward. That could be a CEO explaining where a market is heading or a CTO making a technical issue understandable. For brands operating in complex or regulated sectors, specialized financial services communications can help turn that expertise into stories that audiences actually understand and trust.  

It also means thinking seriously about the formats where that expertise can live. Substack, for example, has become a space where tech founders, fintech voices, VCs, and investment professionals can build relationships with niche but highly engaged audiences. For B2B brands, that could mean building their own owned channel, or appearing through an established independent voice with the right audience. Similarly, podcasts are not new to B2B, but their influence has grown. As engaged audiences increasingly turn to podcasts for news and expert opinion, they give spokespeople the time and space to explain how they think, which is often where credibility is built. 

This also connects to how AI is changing the customer journey. As we previously covered in our piece on ChatGPT ads and conversational discovery, more people are using AI tools to research and compare options before they ever visit a website. For B2B brands, that makes clarity and third-party validation even more important. 

The future of visibility is more human 

AI is changing how people search for information and algorithms are changing how people discover content, but that doesn’t mean marketing should become more robotic. As digital content becomes more abundant, human expertise becomes the differentiator. 

For B2B brands, the opportunity is not to abandon short-form content, paid media, or SEO. It is to build a more balanced strategy that combines visibility with credibility, supported by strong B2B content marketing and campaign strategy. 

The rise of people-led media brings the industry back to a simple truth: audiences respond to communications that feel considered, useful, and worth their time. In an AI-shaped environment, that means understanding what your audience actually needs, saying something meaningful, and giving them a clear reason to trust the voice behind it. 

If your brand needs support turning internal expertise into clearer, more credible communications, get in touch with the Aspectus team. 

Key takeaways 

Why are audiences moving towards people-led media? 

Because they are looking for content that feels more human and trustworthy in a crowded, AI-shaped digital environment. 

What does this mean for B2B brands? 

B2B brands need to put credible expertise at the center of their communications, rather than relying on polished but generic brand messaging. 

Should every brand launch a podcast or Substack? 

No – the priority is not chasing platforms, but applying the principles behind them: personality, depth, trust, and relevance. 

How can Aspectus help? 

Aspectus helps B2B brands turn internal expertise into clear, credible campaigns that build visibility and authority across earned, owned, social, and digital channels.

About the author

Freya Hartley is an Account Executive in the Financial Services team, based in the London office. She works with clients across financial services and investment, and particularly enjoys supporting brands in the fintech and ESG spaces. She is interested in how emerging technologies are reshaping the way audiences engage with brands and consume content.