Why tone of voice still wins, even in the age of AI

In this episode of CMO Therapy, Lucy sits down with the brilliant Mel Barfield, Managing Partner and Brand Voice Lead at Copy or Die, to talk about why tone of voice still matters massively… especially now AI can produce polished content in seconds.
We get into why tone of voice is not just a nice little brand exercise or a page buried in the guidelines, but a real leadership choice that shapes trust, consistency and how your business actually shows up. Mel shares why so many brands end up sounding the same, where tone-of-voice work usually falls apart and why implementation matters just as much as the strategy itself.
We also dig into the growing tension between speed and quality in the age of AI. How do you use AI without letting your brand voice get replaced by bland, robotic beige-ness?
As Mel puts it: “The language that you use is so important. It can make trust and it can break trust.”
If you care about brand, credibility and sounding like an actual human, this one’s for you.Music clip by Filo Starquez, Divergence