How to use AI to scale thought leadership in your voice

Most AI-generated content is bad.

If you've spent any time on LinkedIn lately, you've seen it: posts that sound like they were written by a committee of robots trying to impersonate a human business leader.

The content feels empty, uses the same phrases everyone else does, and lacks the unique perspective that makes thought leadership valuable in the first place.

When people use AI to create thought leadership, they typically just prompt a general model like ChatGPT with something like "Write me a LinkedIn post about leadership in uncertain times." This churns out “AI slop”: eerily generic content pulled from the same information pool everyone else has access to. It's the fast-food version of thought leadership — cheap, quick, and ultimately unsatisfying.

With that said, AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for scaling authentic thought leadership when used correctly. The key is training it on your knowledge and expertise, not letting it make things up.

The real problem with AI content (and how to solve it).

After years of experimenting with different approaches, I've developed a methodology that maintains authenticity while using AI to scale content production:

1. Do interviews like journalists, not robots.

Everything starts with a real conversation:

• 30-60 minute interviews with key executives or subject matter experts.

• Journalist-style questions that draw out valuable insights.

• Recording and transcription for maximum accuracy.

This is 100% human-to-human interaction. No AI is involved at this stage because nothing can replace a skilled interviewer drawing out the best insights from a subject matter expert.

2. Building your brain's digital twin.

We then build a secure, private knowledge base from these conversations:

• Transcripts are processed and organized.

• Key themes and insights are identified.

• Your linguistic patterns and vocabulary are preserved.

• Existing brand materials and guidelines are incorporated.

This knowledge base becomes a digital extension of your expertise — a secure repository of your insights, experiences, and way of communicating.

3. Training AI to think and write like you.

We use platforms like Claude and GPT to process this knowledge base.

• Custom prompting techniques ensure the AI captures your authentic voice.

• Your linguistic patterns, word choices, and thought processes are preserved.

• Human editing catches any "AI-isms" that don't sound like you.

The result is content that genuinely sounds like you — because it's built from your actual words, insights, and expertise.

4. A human editor is still neccessary.

AI is a tool, not a replacement for human judgment:

• Every piece goes through human review.

• We ensure accuracy, voice consistency, and strategic alignment.

• Content is optimized for specific platforms and audiences.

• Nothing is published without your approval.

The tech stack you need:

Our methodology relies on several key technologies:

• Interview tools: Zoom and Google Meet for recording conversations.

• Transcription: Otter.AI for accurate interview transcription.

• Knowledge base: Claude Projects and MyGPT for secure information storage.

• Content generation: Fine-tuned Claude and GPT models for drafting.

• Quality control: Human editing and review by experienced editors.

• Talkbox: My custom AI ghost writing platform that connects conversation to content. I use this for coaching clients.

Why this actually works when most AI content fails.

This human-led, AI-enhanced method delivers several key advantages:

1. It actually sounds like you (because it is you).

Unlike generic AI content, our approach maintains your unique voice. The content sounds like you because it's literally built from your words, phrases, and thinking patterns.

2. You still save time without sounding generic.

Traditional ghostwriting is time-consuming and expensive. Our method preserves quality while dramatically increasing efficiency.

3. Consistent voice across your channels.

As your knowledge base grows, so does the AI's understanding of your expertise and communication style. This ensures consistency across all content channels and formats.

4. More content without the quality tradeoff.

As your thought leadership program grows, our approach scales with it without sacrificing authenticity:

• Multiple executives can have their own voice profiles.

• Content can be adapted for different platforms while maintaining consistency.

• Volume can increase without quality declining.

Real examples from real clients.

Inclusively turned co-founder conversations to an invite to the World Economic Forum.

When working with Inclusively, an enterprise SaaS startup, we used this approach to create a comprehensive thought leadership program:

• Conducted monthly interviews with co-founders.

• Built a knowledge base of their insights on workplace accommodation and inclusion.

• Used AI to scale this into 30+ content pieces monthly.

• Maintained their authentic voices while saving them 10+ hours weekly.

This created content that contributed to their invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum.

As Julie Meringer, their SVP of Delivery & Operations noted: "Dan scaled our thought leadership with AI. We didn’t use ChatGPT to make generic content; we didn’t pull from the same information pool everyone else did. We created a custom knowledge base.”

Recovery.com scaled executive thought leadership during rapid growth.

For Recovery.com, one of the fastest-growing companies in Wisconsin, the challenge was different. Their executives were deeply involved in building a marketplace that connects people to behavioral health resources.

We implemented our AI-enhanced approach with impressive results:

• Turned 30-minute conversations with their Chief Growth Officer into a steady stream of LinkedIn content. We then followed that up with the rest of the C-Suite.

• Created a custom knowledge base that captured unique voices and expertise.

• Combined with paid ads to drive deal flow. 41 of 44 potential enterprise clients engaged with our content.

• Generated inbound interest — deals began to start in LinkedIn inboxes.

The content helped Recovery.com translate their authenticity and credibility into organic impressions and increased deal flow.

Where this is all headed (and how to stay ahead).

AI methodology continues to evolve as the technology advances:

What to focus on today:

• Voice preservation and authentic content scaling.

• Multi-format content generation (posts, articles, emails).

• Topic expansion based on existing knowledge.

What's coming next:

• Automated video clip selection from interviews.

• Semi-automated sales outreach based on content. Basically, when an ICP interacts with your content, you’ll be able to generate a tailored outreach email draft.

• More sophisticated platform-specific formatting.

Let's talk about scaling your thought leadership.

If you're interested in learning more about how we can help you scale your thought leadership without sacrificing authenticity, let's talk. We can discuss your specific needs and how our AI-enhanced approach might fit your goals.

Remember: The best AI-generated content doesn't sound like AI at all. It sounds like you.