Customer references work best when the customer’s true voice is heard. It adds authenticity. The reference is more believable. The quote sounds like it’s come from a human, not a marketing phrasebook.

But what does ‘true’ mean?

Very few customer quotes are published verbatim. The vast majority are polished. The meaning won’t be changed, but the language/grammar/structure might be improved before publishing.

As the customer retains the right of veto, and nothing is ever published without their approval, this is perhaps the whitest of white lies. Editorial changes are a subjective decision, but always made with the customer’s best interests at heart. You want to help the customer sound confident, smart, decisive.

This has tended to be more of an issue with the written word. It’s not been so easy to polish a video or audio clip.

Until now. AI has created a menu of editorial interventions. At the minor end of the scale, video editors can strip out (or add) background noise or optimise the colour. Gentle stuff. For the interventionalists, it is now possible to script a sentence and, using a voice sample, have the line delivered in the customer’s voice. Training the AI on a short video clip of the customer, it is then possible to place the subject in a scene, ‘filmed’ in a location they’ve never visited, speaking words they never said. Essentially a deepfake, though a well-meaning one.

If we retain the guiding principles (customer veto, stay believable, make them sound great), where is the harm? You could create more content, more targeted content, in a more efficient and timely manner. Every video looks amazing, every clip is perfect. Your customer isn’t inconvenienced with an interview, just a steady stream of approval requests for sound bites that were never given.

No doubt this will be tempting for some. To turn an advocacy program into a hands-free platform capable of churning out reference content on demand.

But a note of caution: the more chaff that is produced, the harder it may be to find an audience willing to listen. We will soon be overwhelmed by AI-generated content, online, on social channels. What once seemed remarkable and innovative, will be soon be seen as dull and derivative.

There can be too much of a good thing. We know authenticity cuts through, but it is scarcity that creates value. Your customer’s voice may carry more weight, more influence, not because it is perfect but because it is rare.