Interview With Séamus Begley, Founder And CEO Of The Studio of Possible On Whether “AI-Powered” Makes Businesses Unique In 2026

Why do you believe ‘AI-powered’ is no longer a differentiator?

A year or two ago, simply saying your product was AI-powered was enough to grab attention but today, it isn’t.

Almost every technology company is making similar claims, which means AI has quickly become expected rather than exceptional. Buyers now assume AI will be part of the product, meaning it isn’t the feature that sets you apart anymore.

The challenge is that many businesses are still communicating as though AI itself is the story, when in reality customers are asking a different question: “Why should I choose you instead of everyone else?”

Technology can open the door, but brand is what gives people a reason to walk through it.

What are the biggest branding mistakes you’re seeing AI companies make?

The biggest mistake is trying to sound like everyone else. I spend a lot of time analysing websites and marketing from data and AI businesses and the similarities are remarkable. Everyone talks about transforming businesses, unlocking insights, driving efficiency or accelerating innovation – the language is almost interchangeable.

Visually, it’s often the same too – blue gradients, abstract graphics, futuristic imagery and generic messaging have become incredibly common.

None of these things are necessarily wrong individually, but together they’ve created a market where brands increasingly blur into one another.

When buyers can’t easily tell companies apart, they often default to price, familiarity or existing relationships rather than genuinely evaluating what’s different.

Why do you think this has happened?

Partly because AI has developed at such incredible speed – this has meant that businesses, understandably, have focused on building products and keeping pace with innovation, with brand often coming in second.

There’s also a tendency for companies to look sideways at competitors rather than looking inward at what genuinely makes them different. Before long, everyone starts using similar language because it feels like the safe option.

Ironically, that creates more risk because standing out becomes harder than ever.
 

How can enterprise technology businesses genuinely differentiate themselves?

Rather than adding more features to a homepage, the businesses that stand out for me are often the ones that communicate a clear point of view. They know exactly who they’re for, what problems they solve and why their approach is different.

That might come from their founders, their culture, their customer experience or even the way they explain complex technology in simple terms.

The strongest brands don’t just tell people what they do, they give people something memorable to associate with them, and this is what’s becoming increasingly valuable as AI products continue to evolve at speed.

Is this only a challenge for AI startups?

Not at all, established enterprise businesses face exactly the same challenge, perhaps even more so.

Many have invested heavily in AI capabilities, but competitors have done the same. Simply announcing another AI feature doesn’t create lasting differentiation anymore.

The companies that will continue to grow are those that build trust, communicate clearly and create a brand people remember long after they’ve forgotten individual product announcements.

Why is brand becoming just as important as product innovation?

Because product advantages rarely stay unique for long – technology evolves incredibly quickly, features can be replicated, competitors catch up and new entrants emerge constantly.

Brand is much harder to copy as it’s the reputation you’ve built, the emotional connection customers have with your business and the confidence they feel when choosing you over someone else.

When products begin to look increasingly similar, brand often becomes the deciding factor.

What advice would you give founders building AI businesses today?

Don’t assume the technology speaks for itself and spend as much time thinking about how your business is perceived as you do building the product.

Ask yourself whether someone landing on your website could explain, in one sentence, why you’re different from every other AI company they’ve looked at that day. If they can’t, you’ve got a branding challenge, not a marketing challenge.

The businesses that win over the next few years won’t necessarily be those with the loudest AI message, they’ll be the ones with the clearest identity.

Looking ahead, how do you think AI branding will evolve?

I think we’ll stop talking about AI quite so much – in the same way businesses don’t describe themselves as ‘cloud-powered’ anymore, AI will simply become part of the infrastructure rather than the headline.

That means we’ll see much greater emphasis on purpose, personality, customer experience and trust.

As the technology becomes increasingly commoditised, the brands that thrive will be those that feel the most human.