Taste Is The Last Competitive Advantage

AI is changing the way the world communicates. Words can be generated in seconds. Images appear instantly. Entire campaigns, websites, and presentations can be produced at a scale and speed that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.

When everyone has access to the same tools, the differentiator is no longer simply the ability to produce content. The real advantage lies in knowing what should be created, why it matters, how it should feel, and when restraint is more powerful than noise.

That is where taste comes in.

The problem with competent sameness

Much of today’s AI-generated content is surprisingly competent. It is grammatically correct, structurally sound, and often optimised for the platforms it is designed to reach.

Yet competence alone does not create distinction.

Taste is often misunderstood as a matter of visual preference, something that belongs primarily to designers or art directors. But true taste is judgment. It is the ability to discern what matters and what does not. What feels credible and what feels performative. What should be said and what should remain unsaid. It is knowing the difference between a narrative that strengthens an organisation’s identity and one that quietly dilutes it.

AI can generate infinite possibilities. Taste determines which possibility is worth pursuing.

In communications, taste shapes everything: the stories chosen, the words used, the timing of a statement, and sometimes the decision not to publish at all.

Curation is the new production

As generative AI becomes more capable, the role of the communicator is evolving. The future is not about producing more. It is about choosing better.

The challenge is no longer generating options. The challenge is deciding which options deserve attention.

That means the most valuable skill is increasingly the ability to ask sharper questions, identify stronger narratives, distinguish signal from noise, and maintain coherence across an increasingly complex media landscape.

The modern communications problem is no longer scarcity. It is excess.

The organisations that understand this are already thinking differently about what they need from their communications partners. They are not looking for content factories. They are looking for partners who understand judgment, risk, reputation, timing, and the difference between what could be said and what should be said.

Intentionality becomes visible

AI-generated content will continue to flood digital platforms. Yet, this is also the time for intentionality to shine.

People will notice sharper ideas, more purposeful design, and the kind of restraint that signals an organisation knows exactly who it is and what it stands for.

Ironically, in a world of infinite content, the organisations that endure will not be those capable of producing the most. They will be those capable of choosing the best, by understanding how to combine the speed of technology with the judgment that only human discernment can provide.

And that, ultimately, is taste.