The SME Guide to Building a Strong Brand Voice Using AI

Small and medium-sized businesses face a unique challenge: standing out in a world where AI has made content production faster, cheaper and more accessible than ever. The trouble is, when everyone can publish more, the shape of competition changes. You're no longer competing against the businesses with the biggest ad budgets. Now, you’re competing against the ones with the clearest, sharpest, most memorable brand voice.

And that’s exactly where many SMEs fall short.

AI can help you scale content, but it can also flatten your personality if you aren’t careful. Without clear tone of voice guidelines and the right prompts, your brand risks sounding like the same recycled AI slop your competitors publish.

This guide shows you how to fix that. I’ll explain how to define, document and deploy a brand voice using AI so your content stands out, feels original and builds trust with your audience. You should also check out my AI copy consultant services to see how I can help your brand find and use its voice.

Why brand voice matters more than ever for SMEs

For small and medium businesses, differentiation has always mattered. But today, AI accelerates the need for a recognisable tone of voice in three big ways:

1. AI makes publishing easier, but sameness is more likely

Much of the AI-generated content online sounds identical: generic intros, predictable structures, safe-but-boring phrasing.

When customers scroll through posts, emails or product pages, your voice is often the only thing that stops them.

2. A strong voice builds trust faster

SMEs don’t have the brand equity of global companies. Trust comes from consistency, personality and clear communication.

Voice becomes a shortcut by telling people who you are before they buy from you.

3. Voice is the one part of your brand that’s hardest to copy

Competitors can copy your offers. They can copy your website layout. They can even copy your pricing.

But a voice that reflects your values, market position and personality is far more difficult to imitate. Just think about how many Innocent Smoothie copycats there have been and how many of them have fallen flat. That’s because it’s theirs. It’s them.

Why AI struggles with brand voice (and what SMEs get wrong)

Most small businesses use AI like this:

• 'Write me an Instagram caption promoting our services.'

• 'Write a blog post about X.'

• 'Turn this into an email.'

AI defaults to neutral, bland and overly general unless you tell it otherwise. Not because the model is weak, but because the request is vague and the AI has to fill in the gaps by guessing.

Here are the top mistakes SMEs make:

1. No documented voice or tone guidelines

You can’t expect an AI to follow rules you haven’t defined.

2. Using single-sentence prompts

You wouldn’t hire a copywriter and give them two lines of instruction. AI is no different.

3. Asking AI to 'sound professional'

'Professional' is AI’s cue to become boring. Therefore, the copy it generates will be dull.

4. Expecting AI to magically 'know' your brand

AI needs inputs: examples, direction, phrases, references and personality cues.

5. Editing output only for accuracy, not tone

Tone should be edited just as aggressively as facts.

Fortunately, all of this is easy to fix.

The SME framework for building a strong brand voice using AI

This framework walks you through defining, documenting and scaling your voice, so every AI-generated piece sounds like you.

Step 1: Define who you are and who you’re not

A strong brand voice starts with clarity. SMEs often skip this because they assume it’s only for big brands. In reality, this step prevents you from becoming generic.

Answer these foundational questions:

1. What does your brand stand for?

Think values, mission and point of view.

2. What personality traits define you?

Examples include:

• Direct

• Warm

• Playful

• Analytical

• Bold

• Calm

• High-energy

• Supportive

Choose 3-5. More than that becomes confusing.

3. What do you explicitly avoid?

Sometimes 'not this' is even more clarifying than 'this.'

4. How should your audience feel when they read your content?

Informed? Encouraged? Empowered? Challenged?

This clarity becomes the core part of your AI instructions.

Step 2: Turn your voice into clear rules for AI

Once you know your personality, convert it into usable, actionable guidelines AI can follow.

Here’s the structure SMEs should use:

1. Tone rules

Give specifics:

• Sentence length

• Vocabulary level

• Emotional intensity

• Use of metaphors

• Use of humour

• Use of storytelling

• Use of contractions

• Formal vs informal scale

  
  

2. Writing style rules

Examples:

• Prefer short sentences

• Use active voice

• Avoid jargon unless necessary

• Speak directly to the reader

• Open with value, not fluff

• Use conversational transitions ('here’s the thing,' 'let’s be honest')

  
  

3. Formatting rules

Tell AI how you want your content structured:

• Use subheadings

• One idea per paragraph

• Bullets only for clarity

• Prefer short paragraphs

• Include skimmable structure

  
  

4. Brand phrases and signature language

If you use recurring phrases, taglines or expressions, include them. This makes your voice instantly recognisable.

Step 3: Collect examples, aka your 'voice library'

This is one of the most useful things an SME can do.

Compile 3-5 samples of content that perfectly represent your voice. Then compile 2-3 samples of content you hate, even from other brands, to show what to avoid.

The combination of good examples and bad examples trains AI better than instructions alone.

Step 4: Build AI prompts that lock in your brand voice

Here’s the SME prompt formula:

'Write [content type] for [audience] about [topic].

Follow these tone of voice guidelines:

[Traits]

[Rules]

Avoid [things you don’t want]

Use the brand’s writing style:

[Rules]

Insert these brand phrases where natural:

[Phrases]

Do NOT use generic AI phrasing.

Use these examples as tone references:

[Paste 2–3 samples].'

This creates predictable, consistent output across platforms.

Step 5: Use AI as your content engine… but with guardrails

AI can handle:

• First drafts

• Expanding bullet notes into full posts

• Repurposing content

• Creating variants for different platforms

• Rewriting in different tones

• Editing for clarity

• Fixing grammar and structure

But you (or your team) should control:

• Key messages

• Strategic positioning

• Emotional nuance

• Final sign off

AI accelerates creation, but humans ensure quality and originality.

Step 6: Build a scalable brand voice system

Now that you’ve defined your voice and built your prompts, assemble everything into a 'Brand Voice & AI Style Guide.'

Your guide should include:

Brand personality

Clear traits, values and tone anchors.

Tone of voice rules

How you write and how you don’t.

Formatting standards

• Paragraph length

• Sentence structure

• Use of bullets

• Header style

• CTA format

  
  

Signature language

Phrases, taglines, repeatable wording patterns.

Approved examples

Your 'gold standard' content.

AI prompts library

Templates for blog posts, emails, ads, captions, website pages and more.

Do-not-use list

Words, clichés and generic phrases you want AI to avoid.

This becomes the master document your whole team (and all AI tools) can reference.

Step 7: Train AI to write more like you over time

Static guidelines are good, but dynamic ones are even better.

Each time AI gets closer to your voice:

1. Copy that sample

2. Save it

3. Add it to your 'Voice Library'

Over time, your guide becomes more accurate, nuanced and consistent.

And if your brand voice evolves, you simply update the guide.

Step 8: Quality control: How to ensure AI stays on brand

SMEs should check for four things in every AI-generated piece:

Personality check

Can you hear the brand? Or could any competitor have written it?

Clarity check

Is the writing crisp? Does it avoid filler and repetition?

Originality check

Is the point of view specific and useful? Or does it feel like a generic summary?

4. Consistency check

Does it sound like your last post, email or article?

This editorial layer is where AI output becomes your content, not general content.

Step 9: Scale your brand voice across every channel

AI helps you extend one clear voice across every channel you use:

• Website content

• Email newsletters

• Sales pages

• Social media channels

• Ads

• Product descriptions

• Scripts

• Customer communication

• Onboarding documents

The key is consistency. Every touchpoint sounds like one brand. even if different people (or tools) write the content.

Step 10: The one rule SMEs must follow: Never outsource your identity to AI

AI should amplify your voice, not replace it.

Your brand voice is you:

• Personality

• Positioning

• Worldview

• Strategy

• Story

These can’t be automated. AI should be used to handle the execution, while you (and your team) handle identity.

When you combine both, you get content that’s:

• Scalable

• Personal

• Differentiated

• Memorable

• Consistent

• Efficient

And that’s the exact combination SMEs need to win.

AI doesn’t kill creativity, but it does kill mediocrity

Most SMEs publish content that blends into the noise. AI didn’t cause that problem, but it makes it painfully obvious.

The businesses that win will be the ones that use AI not just to write faster, but to express themselves better.

A clear brand voice gives AI the direction it needs so you can be better.

Ready to stand out? Contact me today and I’ll help you create TOV guidelines and AI prompts that will give your brand a strong and consistent voice, especially when publishing content at scale.