The World Economic Forum (“WEF”) ranks “mis- and disinformation” as one of the top risks facing humanity over the next decade. A full 70% of people believe they’re being deliberately misled by leaders in government, business, and the media.
One powerful response lies in building a consistent brand that inspires trust.
Building brand trust starts with brand identity and values – what the brand stands for and the meaning it has for clients and customers, in addition to the quality of the product or service. The most trusted brands are those that “most accurately reflect a customer’s cultural identity,” writes the MIT Sloan Management Review.
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When brands communicate their brand values, and consistently live up to those values, they help their target audience by:
(1) anchoring the truth – giving the public a clear reference point when misinformation strikes, and
(2) simplifying choice – a clear, values-led brand story cuts through the noise of information overload.
An authentic brand anchored in vision, values, and purpose defends against AI slop and misinformation through their products, services and actions.
To become a trusted anchor against the storm of misinformation and AI slop, brands need to communicate their values with:
(1) Clarity – a clearly articulated functionality, aesthetic, brand association and voice;
(2) Consistency – repeated, reliable, concise, easily memorable;
(3) Credibility – always aligned with the brand’s beliefs, actions, values, and purpose.
Developing a brand story that combines your brand’s values, mission, and purpose into a memorable narrative is one way to close the trust gap. People are much more likely to remember a good story than a good sales pitch. Then comes the persistent delivery of your brand’s promises.
In addition to the good will, loyalty, and reputation beheld by customers, users, and buyers, brand equity (including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights) can become measurable assets and value-adds to an organization’s bottom line. It is leverageable and translatable into financial benefits such as collateral for a commercial loan, and increase in valuation of a company in the event of sale, M&A, and other similar situations.
How much is the brand name “Disney” worth? Or “Apple”? Each has brand equity that is unique, unduplicatable, and valuable. The appeal and the following of these brands by consumers can be measured and translated into customers and profits.
Brand equity is heavily dependent on trust, connection, and identity-association by the brand’s consumers or users. As the Harvard Business School (HBS) puts it: “Think of brand equity as the sum of consumers’ thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about your brand that influences their willingness to pay for your product.”
Positive brand equity, using AI to improve customer experience. Most companies think AI success is about improving capability, but it’s really about improving the experience you design for humans. It is time to shift focus from what AI can do, to what AI should do for your customers, per AIXD™ (AI Experience Design).
From this point of view, AI isn’t your brand’s product or service, it’s how your customers experience your brand. Every AI interaction has the chance to build trust or erode it, strengthen your brand or weaken it.
AIXD™ is the design of AI-assisted, AI-enabled, and AI-led journeys built around real human needs, expectations, and psychology. AIXD™ goes beyond user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) and defines:
Before adopting AI, leaders should be asking:
So here’s the real question: Are you designing AI systems, or are you designing human experiences powered by AI?
In the AI era, user experience IS brand experience. Poorly designed AI isn’t neutral, it’s destructive.
Negative brand equity: When a brand’s reputation declines, the result can be negative brand equity. That often leads potential customers to avoid a brand’s products and services, even when their price and quality is comparable to the competition.
Negative brand equity can result from many factors including:
(1) product recalls,
(2) poor customer service – AI or human,
(3) inconsistent offerings, and
(4) scandals or other controversies.
The landscape of brand equity has shifted significantly in 2025 and 2026, moving away from traditional awareness toward AI-driven personalization.
On the premise that humans derive deep satisfaction from human-to-human connections (vs. human-to-”digital human”), just because AI agents and AI humanoids can replicate humans does not mean they should replace authentic human relationships and trust.
Before replacing human connections, ask the customers and the end users of a brand if they prefer human-to-human or human-to-machine interactions. Their answers will dictate decisions about what and how much AI plays a role.
AI is saturating the market. The good news is that it’s also unintentionally elevating human elements that AI cannot replicate: authenticity, personal connection, and a consistent bottom line based on the value and values a brand delivers.
The key to becoming a strong brand is to become the “automatic choice” for your target audience, according to consulting firm NielsenIQ. Consumers face nearly unlimited choices and brands must become “irresistible” to win them over. The authors identify three ways to build brand equity:
Building a clear identity through consistent brand positioning creates what the authors call “mental availability,” which is the extent to which your brand comes to mind. “Distinctiveness is what makes you easy to recognize and hard to confuse,” the authors write.
While some consumers will look for bargains, most are more interested in certainty and real value for money. “The first benefit of a strong brand is that it builds stability and resilience in the face of [economic] storms.”
Having a strong brand expands the “blue ocean” of potential buyers, but it takes consistent effort over time. Brands that only capture buyers when they enter the market are locked into a “zero-sum auction” (“red ocean”) for the same customers.
Keeping your brand top of mind has never been more challenging, as AI slop and misinformation floods the market. Truth, trust, and building brand equity are keys to thriving in the digital age.
To learn more about building brand equity in the AI age, please contact us.
Joanne Z. Tan is a global brand strategist, thought leadership coach, and founder of 10 Plus Brand, Inc. and its subsidiary AIXD.world. She advises executives, founders, and organizations on building influential, differentiated brands that drive visibility, credibility, and revenue growth. Her work integrates strategic positioning, AI-era brand architecture, and executive thought leadership to help leaders become recognized authorities in their industries. Also as a content strategist and branding expert, and a dynamic speaker, Joanne helps decode Brand DNA to elevate successful businesses to powerful brands in the AI age.
Her coaching emphasizes comprehensive strategies, business modeling, multidisciplinary thought leadership, high-authority content creation, brand building, GTM, user experience design, AI Native Brand Architecture™, and AIXD™ (AI Experience Design). Trained in law and business with a liberal arts foundation from Brandeis University, Joanne is also a former journalist, award-winning photographic artist, poet, and avid wilderness backpacker.
AIXD (AI Experience Design) is a global platform and community focused on advancing responsible, human-centered artificial intelligence. It brings together leaders, technologists, strategists, and innovators to explore how AI can be designed, implemented, and governed to enhance human experience and long-term business value. Through thought leadership, collaboration, and strategic dialogue, AIXD aims to shape the future of AI – human symbiosis with impact, innovation, and integrity.
© Joanne Z. Tan, 2026. All rights reserved.
