Why human-led social content is key right now

AI. You can’t scroll for more than two seconds on social media without seeing some kind of news or content that’s AI related. With more and more people relying on AI for information, content and weird image generations, is it finally causing people to turn the other way and value human-led content?

In this blog, our Social Media Executive Lorna takes a deep dive into just why human-led content is more important than ever.

Cutting through the AI overload
AI can be a great tool for generating inspiration for content or making edits to enhance assets, however the internet is now saturated with AI imagery and poorly worded social captions that, quite obviously, have just had a topic plonked into the ChatGPT search bar and then copy and pasted.

People are now wising up to this, and are becoming tired of consuming constant AI generated content, and craving more human-led and human generated content to refresh their feeds.

Focusing on human-led content can help your brand cut through the AI noise and make people stop scrolling and consume your content. Whether this is by encouraging employee content, or creating assets that have been designed by a design team without the use of AI.

Originality is always key, and you can’t get originality from AI. As it just pulls information from different sources and sandwiches it together, it might be a super piece of content but it’s not unique to your brand. Therefore, creating your own content is the best way to remain unique and stand out from the vast amount of other content on social media.

Encouraging trust
People have become more skeptical since the introduction of AI images, videos and copy and don’t know what’s real and what’s been generated. When people see a real face or words from a real person it’s much easier to trust what is being said or shown, and in turn helps more people trust your brand as a whole.

Trust and authenticity isn’t just an option for brands anymore, it’s key for survival. Consumers are a lot more selective and considerate than in previous years, so creating a focus on human-led content can really help solidify that trust within your audience and create more security for your business.

Brand personality
Who wants to be boring when you can bring personality to your brand? In 2026, you need to stand out on social media to make an impact, and adding personality to your content can really help differentiate you from the rest.

You can do this by updating your tone of voice, introducing more employee-led content that shows the faces behind the brand, or creating a new style of content that focuses on the brand itself rather than just the product or service.

However, make sure the personality fits with what your core brand is. You don’t want to completely reinvent your brand, just give it a little boost!

At First Internet we always want our personality to shine through in our content, which is why you might see members of our team pop up in silly social videos from time to time. We want to show we’re not just an agency, we’re a team of talented humans behind the screen!

People want relatability, not perfection
Social media culture has shifted from people wanting to consume aspirational, perfected content to favouring relatability and more unpolished outputs.

This shift is due to a few factors that aren’t just based on the rise of AI. The cost of living for example has made people turn away from influencer content that shows vast hauls or expensive getaways, and the uncertain political landscape in society has people searching for relief and light hearted content to brighten their day.

The rise of AI has also of course contributed to the shift, as people are so used to seeing perfected images that have been enhanced or generated by AI and it’s all getting a little…dull. Showing a human side of content that might be messy or unpolished and relatable strengthens the connection between brand and consumer and creates a sense of community rather than just focusing on sales.

So next time you think “argh my content doesn’t look perfect enough”, maybe that’s actually a good thing.

While we won’t see AI disappear from social media feeds or content, it is expected that human-led content will be a key focus within brand’s social media strategies moving forwards, so it’s super important to keep up with this shift in consumer behaviour.

If you’re looking for help with your social media strategy, contact us today to see how we can assist with your content!