Martha Marchesi , Chief Executive Officer
AI adoption in communications is no longer theoretical—it’s already here.
Roughly three-quarters of communications professionals are now using generative AI in their work, nearly triple the rate from just two years ago.
As that adoption accelerates, communications teams are under pressure to move faster, produce more, and support leaders across more channels.
One idea gaining traction is the creation of “digital twins”—AI-powered surrogates that can generate written content in a leader’s voice at scale.
In this case, we’re not talking about video avatars or synthetic media—areas where concerns around trust and authenticity are well documented—but something simpler: the ability to scale how a leader communicates.
But there’s a problem with digital twins: many are just poor copies of the original. They lack the texture and depth needed to produce communication that actually feels like the real thing.
Most digital twins fail for a simple reason: they’re built on content instead of clarity.
In many cases, digital twins are created by feeding an AI platform a backlog of past materials—emails, speeches, town halls, decks—to train it on a leader’s voice. Some take it a step further and layer in a leadership brand platform or executive narrative to help guide the AI.
But here’s the catch: those inputs weren’t designed for this job.
And that’s where things start to break.
The problem isn’t content. It’s what content can’t capture.
A backlog of communications can show what a leader has said, and a leadership brand can show what a leader wants to be known for—but neither reliably represents how a leader truly shows up in communications.
- How they frame decisions.
- How they carry themselves.
- What patterns show up when they speak.
- What they consistently emphasize—and what they leave unsaid.
So when organizations build digital twins from traditional inputs, the system does exactly what it’s designed to do: learn the patterns it’s given and reproduce them.
But generative AI systems don’t improve what they’re given—they learn patterns from it and reflect them back. Without giving them a clear identity to work with, the results often sound polished, but generic. And when you do this with multiple leaders, they can all start to sound the same—clear enough to follow, but not sharp enough to stand apart or inspire action.
What a strong digital twin actually enables.
At its best, an intentional, well-crafted digital twin isn’t just a content engine. It’s a clarity engine.
Done right, it can:
- Sharpen and reinforce a consistent leadership voice
- Accelerate communication grounded in clear, repeatable points of view
- Help leaders pressure-test ideas before high-stakes moments
- Scale clarity and confidence—not just visibility
More importantly, it can make the voice itself stronger.
With the right foundation, AI doesn’t just replicate how a leader communicates—it helps crystallize it. It surfaces new ideas, sharpens tone, and reinforces what makes that leader distinct. Over time, the voice stays defined and consistent—and gives communicators a stronger foundation to work from and a stronger thought partner to work with.
That’s the real opportunity: not just more output, but better thinking—expressed more clearly, more consistently, and at scale.
What it actually takes to make it work.
To build a powerful digital twin, you need a clear, structured representation of the leader’s communication style.
Think of it as creating an AI-ready leader identity—one grounded in priorities, themes, and guardrails that define how that leader shows up. There are a few keys to getting it right.
Define their core priorities and themes
What ideas does this leader consistently come back to? What topics matter most—and how are they framed? What do they tend to reinforce across moments and messages?
This helps the system prioritize what matters, so communication reflects what the leader actually focuses on—not just what’s asked in the moment.
Capture how they communicate
What stands out when this leader communicates? What kind of language do they naturally use? How direct are they? How do they structure ideas? Do they start with the big picture or jump straight to action? Do they simplify or layer in nuance?
Documenting this is what moves the output from accurate to authentic—shaping not just what is said, but how it’s built and delivered, so it feels like a real extension of the leader.
Define how personal elements show up
Where does this leader bring in personal or human touches? Do they use relatable references, real-world examples, or moments of lightness to connect? Are there specific patterns—stories, analogies, or cultural touchpoints—that feel natural to them?
Weaving in a personal layer makes the voice feel human and approachable—adding texture without turning it into something forced or overly casual.
Define what they don’t do
What language would this leader never use? Do they avoid corporate jargon, overly polished phrasing, or hyperbole? Would they never use humor or irony?
Setting clear negative boundaries like these helps keep the voice sharp and distinctive, and creates another safeguard against your AI from slowly drifting away from what makes the leader recognizable.
Taken together, these become more than a set of guidelines—they become a working model. It creates a shared standard for what “on voice” actually means—and a way to generate, evaluate, and refine communication with far more consistency.
How to use AI to build the right foundation.
So where do you start when building an AI-ready leader identity?
The answer is simple: use AI as a builder, not just a content generator.
AI is particularly effective at identifying patterns across large sets of content. So feed in the raw materials you already have—past communications, leadership brand platforms, and messaging frameworks—and use it to generate a structured first pass.
This isn’t the finished product. It’s a starting point.
From there, the role of the communications team becomes critical. Working alongside the leader, the goal is to refine that first draft into something sharper, more intentional, and actually usable.
- Clarify the signal
Identify what the leader consistently reinforces—and remove anything that dilutes it. - Sharpen how the voice shows up
Refine tone, structure, and language so it reflects how the leader actually communicates. - Define the boundaries
Establish what topics are out of bounds for the leader and what language they would never use. - Reinforce what feels most authentic
Double down on the patterns, phrases, and personal touches that make the voice recognizable and human.
The point here is that you don’t have to figure all of this out on your own. AI can be more than just a recipient of your leader identity—it’s a partner in building it.
In the end, it’s intentionality that matters.
Many digital twins fail because they’re built on recycled inputs instead of intentional choices—ones that create leadership voices that are clear, consistent, and distinct enough to scale.
And while it might sound complex, this doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking.
Simply start by taking the time to define what makes a leader truly unique—the ideas they consistently come back to, how they naturally communicate, and the personal elements that make them relatable.
Capture that clearly. Give it some structure. Use it as your foundation.
Even a simple, intentional model will outperform a system built on a pile of past communications.
Because in the end, you don’t just want more content—you want communication that actually sounds like the leader behind it.
We help organizations define and scale leadership voices with character and clarity. Get in touch and let’s talk about how we can help you build AI-powered communications that feel consistent, distinctive, and authentically human.
