“They’re very gendered terms in the way that we’ve used them historically in language, and you see that reflected back at you,” said Sykes.  “But most brands don’t want that kind of gendered or skewed reflection.”

Shifts in client briefs

The Brandtech Group’s clients that tested Bias Breaker are refining their approach to AI, shifting from a broad mindset to a more targeted strategy, Sykes said. Initially, most brand briefs sought to apply AI across all aspects of their work, from image generation to brand messaging. Now, they are more selective, focusing on where automation and scalability can be most effective.

For example, when crafting campaign images for events like Black History Month or Pride Month, The Brandtech Group encourages brands to not use AI and instead work directly with community members and fairly compensate them to be part of the campaign.

“From the very sort of positioning of it makes it makes a bad AI brief,” said Sykes. “You cannot substitute AI for what would be real life work such as understanding the community.”

For scaling product communication or optimizing brand messaging and performance, where human experience is less critical, the benefits of generative AI become more evident.

“It’s a more intentional application of AI,” said Sykes.