GenAI content is taking over the internet - Is it worth it?

GenAI visual content can be great, but is it really valuable?

By Markus Backman

July 8th, 2025

It's been more than two years since OpenAI launched ChatGPT, followed by a wave of other apps and services using generative AI to assist us in our everyday lives.

While much of this is undeniably useful, the internet is becoming increasingly clogged with GenAI content, not only in text format, but also in a growing numbers of unrecognizable visuals, from images to videos, emerging across social media and other platforms.

When is too much, well, too much? And is this the new norm, where AI-made content replaces most of what used to be created by humans?

The internet is filled with GenAI visual content now

The real turning point was when text and copy created with GenAI began appearing, more or less, everywhere. AI-generated writing is now so commonplace that it’s often impossible to tell whether something was created by a human or not.

On social media, I’ve recently noticed Instagram filling up with reels and images that are clearly made using GenAI tools. I'm not going to lie, AI videos have come a long way. They can look surprisingly good and even make some sense now, compared to the early days of surreal nightmare fuel and incoherent storylines.

But the issue with GenAI isn’t whether it can mimic real-life visuals or content convincingly. It’s the fact that the content isn’t created by humans, and humans don't value such content the same way.
(Well, technically, AI models were trained and built by skilled engineers and developers, so in that sense, it's still human-made at the root. But the final content isn't born from a human creative process.)

The problems with GenAI created content

There are just so many reasons GenAI productions come with problems. I'll list some of the biggest ones I can think of here:

• No originality or brand voice: Have we forgotten this? How are consumers actually responding to AI-generated content, and more importantly, do they find it valuable? Should big brands start replacing all their content creators with AI?

  Right now, GenAI struggles with brand consistency and lacks the psychological depth that defines why brands resonate with people in the first place.

• Brand reputation: If a brand’s entire marketing and communication effort consists of GenAI-produced content, is that seen as meaningful? Probably not. Audiences still expect brands to invest in authentic, thoughtful communication, especially due to deep-rooted psychological expectations.

• Plagiarism and copyright: Maybe you've lately heard about cases where companies are upset because allegedly their material was turned into some kind of GenAI result. This can lead to legal claims or reputational damage if the company appears to be copying competitors or artists, but it's a bit in the grey zone right now really.

• Misinformation and bias: Even in imagery, misinformation and biases appear. Especially in video format where there may be a plot of some kind of storyline that can be very present.

• Overstimulation: As everybody keeps producing more and more at a faster pace, it had lead to users becoming overstimulated. We know that attention is scarce, but AI-based quantity won't replace quality and purpose anytime soon.

Is it worth using GenAI produced content?

This is really a questions that only comes down to the users to decide. Do people care or not if the content is created by a machine or a human? Or is the content just so good it is unrecognizable to determine how it was made?

Personally, when I encounter let's say a brand or content creator that is heavily utilizing GenAI in their marketing and communication efforts, my reactions would not be positive, because I know little effort was taken to create it.

It may just be a generational thing, where in the future, using GenAI is just so excepted, that people would not really care how it is made. It might also be that as all of those GenAI creations mature to even better versions, they are just so good there's no point in doing anything like that themselves.

Of course, there could be a scenario in the future, where we start to revert back to human made content creation, where appreciation and value is placed on human work, leaving GenAI content aside.

Right now, I would see it as plausible to use GenAI to some extent, but going all in, forgetting everything creative a human could provide, is not a good idea. Going all in on the AI gives a cheap impression, lacking consistency and human affection, making such marketing efforts bland.

Closing thoughts

I think GenAI can be a great tool in the kit, but if a brand consists of nothing more than that, call to human-centered creativity would most likely be lacking.

Maybe the real challenge isn't whether AI can replace human content, but whether we still value the unique imperfections, emotions, and perspectives only humans can offer. In a world that’s becoming increasingly automated, perhaps what will stand out the most is what still feels genuinely human.