Do You Have Good Taste? It's More Important Than Ever

"Once upon a time, producing anything - from products and campaigns, to websites and brand worlds - took time and money. Those constraints created natural barriers to entry, while the friction of the making process forced brands to refine their approaches to craft and develop a real point of view. But with the rise of AI, this is no longer the case."

"Content that once required significant human input can now be generated more easily and cheaply, raising the risk of sameness, or what some critics have dubbed "AI slop". And at the same time, it is reinforcing an industry pattern that was most prominent during the luxury slowdown: brands defaulting to safe, repeatable products with minimal creative risk."

""It was easier to stand out pre-AI," says Tony Wang, founder of Office of Applied Strategy (OAS), a think tank and consulting firm that has worked with the likes of Prada, Chanel, and Cartier. "Now, the competitive pressure - both internal and external - is much higher. What do they actually want to be as a brand, especially when AI can emulate their style or even replicate their business model?""

"In this environment of infinite content and increasingly derivative output, taste has emerged as both a filter and a differentiator. "In the AI age, taste will become even more important," Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham said back in February. "When anyone can make anything, the big differentiator is what you choose to make.""

Producing products, campaigns, websites, and brand worlds once required time and money, which limited entry and encouraged brands to refine craft and develop clear points of view. AI now enables content to be generated more easily and cheaply, increasing the risk of repetitive, low-quality output often called “AI slop.” This also reinforces a pattern seen during the luxury slowdown, where brands default to safe, repeatable offerings with minimal creative risk. Competitive pressure rises as AI can emulate styles and replicate business models. In an environment of abundant content, taste becomes a filter and differentiator. Taste is historically communicated through heritage and consistent house codes, but generative AI can create similar-looking content without context or understanding of why references matter.

Read at Vogue