Research: Widespread AI Tool Use Is Narrowing Business Communication Differentiation

Generative AI makes it easier to produce polished business pitches, plans, and marketing copy. But new research from the University of Manchester and Canada's University of Alberta suggests there is a collective downside: the more businesses rely on the same tools, the more their communications start to look alike.

The study, published in the journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, analyzed AI-augmented versions of more than 26,000 real-world crowdfunding campaign descriptions.

What the Data Shows

The results were striking. Across the AI-rewritten versions of those campaigns:

• Language variation dropped 43% compared to the original human-written pitches.
• Variation in length and writing quality fell by around 80%.

The researchers describe a paradox: AI makes individual storytelling easier, but widespread adoption could make effective differentiation harder for business owners collectively. As audiences see more AI-polished communications, they develop higher baseline expectations, and purely AI-generated content begins to blend together.

Key takeaways:

• AI tools narrow the linguistic range across business communications, reducing the signals that help audiences distinguish one brand from another.
• As AI-assisted communications become the expected norm, audiences may demand more evidence, not just polished prose.
• Cultural competence and original storytelling skills could become more valuable, not less, as AI flattens the field.

Lead author Dr Karl Taeuscher from Manchester's Alliance Manchester Business School noted: "Business owners will still need to understand their audiences, recognise cultural expectations and know how to position their businesses in ways that are both credible and distinctive."

The researchers caution that the findings present a plausible scenario rather than a prediction, as both AI technology and social norms around its use are evolving rapidly.

Read the full article on University of Manchester