AI For Thought Leadership: Everything You Need To Know

A co-founder of Infosys, 78-year-old N. R. Narayana Murthy is largely retired these days, serving as chairman emeritus of the tech consultancy while spending a good chunk of his time giving speeches to share his knowledge.

Rather than writing them from scratch, Murthy has turned to a trusted friend, ChatGPT, which he says has improved his productivity 5x, helping him deliver more impactful messages faster.

If a business leader worth $5 billion can use AI for thought leadership, why can’t you?

Read on to learn why more and more executives are turning to AI to accelerate their thought leadership efforts, how you can do the same, and some pitfalls to keep in mind to avoid costly missteps.

Why AI can be so powerful for thought leaders

The typical executive averages 62.5 hours at work each week, according to a Harvard Business Review study — 18.5 more hours than the run-of-the-mill employee.

With 30% of that time spent on email and another 33% spent in meetings, executives need to do everything they can to minimize busy work and maximize productivity — leaving room for more high-impact initiatives.

This is exactly where artificial intelligence enters the equation.

Think of AI as a tireless personal assistant — a smart, very capable but inexperienced intern you can train over time. By leveraging AI, thought leaders can multiply their capabilities and increase their output, all without adding undo time or expense.

After all, thought leadership is all about sharing unique insights and perspectives with clarity and precision. At the same time, it’s also about consistency — and AI helps you scale both.

Whether you’re trying to figure out who your ideal audience is, conduct research to support your big-picture ideas, or brainstorm angles for your next speaking session, AI can be a force multiplier. And if you’re more ambitious, you can even train an AI chatbot to think and talk exactly like you do.

With all this in mind, let’s drill down a little deeper into how you can use AI to uplevel your thought leadership endeavors.

AI thought leadership: Basic use cases

Just getting ready to dip your toes into the world of AI? Here are some basic use cases you can try to see what the fuss is all about.

Research partner

Effective thought leadership involves more than simply sharing your opinions.

According to research from Edelman and LinkedIn, 55% of B2B buyers agree that high-quality thought leadership content includes “strong research and data.”

No wonder so many thought leaders are using AI as a research partner to accelerate their efforts.

For example, Sam Richter, one of the world’s top speakers on generative AI, relies heavily on the technology to gather business intelligence that informs his keynote addresses. The Deep Research functionality inside ChatGPT can be especially helpful for surfacing relevant stats.

Audience analysis

Itching to learn more about your audience? AI-powered tools like Meltwater and Sprinklr can analyze social media platforms and online conversations and figure out which topics resonate the most — and which aren’t worth the effort to pursue.

AI-powered tools like HubSpot and Mailchimp can also segment your email lists based on behaviors, engagement patterns, and interests, enabling you to customize your content to various personas — and get better results because of it.

Drafting and editing content

Of course, generative AI can also help you draft, edit, and enhance content. Believe it or not, LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman even went as far as writing an entire book — Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI — using a large language model (so he says).

AI’s strengths here are primarily at the start and finish of the creative process. If you have strong ideas and are struggling to organize them, AI tools like ChatGPT are adept at generating outlines and linking concepts together.

Conversely, if you have a rough draft that needs pruning for clarity and redundancy, AI excels at polishing up written copy and taking whitepapers, speeches,and emails to the next level.

While AI can definitely help with content creation, you likely don’t want to lean on the tool too much. We’ll explain more below.

AI thought leadership: Advanced use cases

For tech-forward thought leaders, AI also offers the possibility of cloning your personal knowledge base and even your physical appearance — effectively allowing you to multiply and even monetize your unique genius.

AI avatars for thought leaders

In the world of email marketing, embedding video into messages can make a massive difference. Initial emails with videos have a 96% higher click-through rate, and videos can also boost meeting booking rates by 400% and response rates by 5x.

But how exactly can you go about creating more personalized video content without adding more hours to your work week?

Using services like Vidyard, you can create AI avatars of yourself and then generate personalized video messages from written prompts — without having to record them. It’s an easy way to scale video creation and outreach without lights, camera, and makeup.

Digital twin

Think AI avatars sound cool? Take the idea one step further by using AI to create a digital twin of yourself.

CEOs are increasingly “cloning” themselves using AI to increase productivity and make themselves more available. A recent Axios article describes how CEOs and directors of companies like Otter, Zoom, and Khosla Ventures are using their digital twins to attend meetings on their behalf (perhaps freeing up more time for thought leadership brainstorming sessions?), chat with new employees, and even participate in investor calls.

Practicing interviews & speeches

Do you have any upcoming speaking engagements, media sit-downs, or panel discussions? Consider leaning into tools like Orai and Yoodli that use artificial intelligence to simulate public speaking scenarios, interviews, and the like. It’s a smart way to pressure-test your thought leadership messaging, refine your ideas, and build confidence before the big day comes.

Where not to use AI as a thought leader

While AI can absolutely supercharge your thought leadership initiatives, it’s not without its downsides. It’s important to remember that your audience tunes into your thought leadership in the first place because it’s supposed to be your authentic and original insights.

If you’re relying on artificial intelligence to provide “thought leadership” on your behalf, you’re not being much of a thought leader, are you? After all, generative AI writing tools are trained on content that already exists. If you truly see the future, how can you rely on tools built from the past?

At the same time, it also turns out that your audience will tune out if they think you’re cutting and pasting from ChatGPT. According to a recent study from consultancy Baringa, 42% of U.S. consumers are uncomfortable reading content entirely written by AI, a marked increase from just a year ago.

To truly engage your audience and make an impact as a thought leader, you need to tap into your special expertise and experience. Your human voice is your most powerful asset as a thought leader.

For that reason, AI is best left for behind-the-scenes work. Think of it as a collaboration partner and a sounding board — not someone you can outsource creative or strategic work to.

For the human touch, partner with a thought leadership agency

AI can absolutely accelerate your thought leadership strategy. From helping you save time on research and brainstorming ideas to even serving as your own digital twin, the latest tools represent an efficiency boon for thought leaders.

But if you lean on AI too strongly, you risk shattering your credibility and alienating your audience.

To ensure the human touch, partner with a thought leadership agency that can help ensure that every article you publish and every speech you give is authentically you.

Learn more about how a thought leadership agency can increase your impact.

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