Essential Steps: How To Future-Proof Your Business Against AI In 2026

Since the end of 2024, if there’s one thing I’ve noticed, not only as a copywriter but also a small independent business owner, it's this: business owners across Australia —from Brisbane’s boutique recruitment agencies to fast-growing SMEs across the country have become heavily reliant on Artificial Inteligence (AI). As you may have noticed, AI is no longer a “future tool.” It’s here, it’s everywhere, and it’s moving fast.

And strangely, the more powerful AI becomes, the more one truth becomes impossible to ignore:

The only way to future-proof your business is to become more human.

I know—that sounds backwards. But let’s look at what’s really happening.

Where Businesses Are Slipping

Over the last year, Australian businesses have rushed to adopt AI for copywriting, marketing, SEO, emails, social media, content creation, and even customer service. Let me say, I have nothing against AI. It’s a great tool for generating ideas and building structure. But it can’t tell stories that build trust. Only you can do that.  In saying that, many brands have quietly fallen into a dangerous trap:

They’ve started letting AI replace their voice instead of enhancing it.

What’s the result?

• Content that sounds the same as every competitor

• Messaging that feels flat, generic and forgettable

• Brand storytelling that lacks emotional pull

• Customers who scroll past because nothing feels genuinely human

Truth be told, you’ve lost the spark that differentiated and made you stand out.

Something I have noticed, with the SMEs I once worked with and those not only in Brisbane, but across Australia, is that SMEs that were once thriving with personality-driven marketing have seen engagement dip the moment they switched to using AI-generated content alone. Why? Because AI, no matter how advanced, can’t mimic lived experience, human nuance, intuition or emotional intelligence.

There was a rise, once upon a time, when businesses were so obsessed with Google algorithms that they were forgetting that

• People buy from people.

• People trust people.

• People connect with people.

In which case, the thought process for many was to focus on the keywords and what would please Google. Today, we see a blindfold over the eyes as businesses lose touch with being human and authentic selves by trading them for efficiency.

So, I’d like you to remember - as AI grows more dominant, your humanity becomes your competitive edge.

So, How Do You Become More Human in a World Overtaken by AI?

Here are five ways to future-proof your business in 2026 and beyond, especially if you’re an Australian SME wanting to stay ahead of the curve:

1. Tell Real Human Stories

Share the moments AI could never write: the first client you landed, the struggle behind your brand, the lesson you learned the hard way, the Brisbane local who changed your business. The story of your life and experiences is something only you can tell.

2. Add Emotion Back into Your Messaging

You might be able to feed in words that you want AI to include for emphasis on an emotion, but while AI can organise information, it can’t feel your frustration, your passion or your purpose. Only you have the true emotions, passion and value that your customers connect with.

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3. Keep Your Brand Voice Consistent

Take a moment to think about how you speak on a day-to-day basis at work. What’s your tone of voice? The words that you use that are unique to you? Now if you’re using one style in person, then a variety of different forms in your various marketing touch points, you will those the consistency of your brand. Not to mention, the one thing that your audience recognises you with and connects with.

Many Australian businesses are losing their identity because every piece of content sounds different depending on the AI tool used.

Here’s a quick tip:  Define your brand voice clearly—and use AI only to support it, not overwrite it.

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4. Bring Your Face and Personality Forward

When I started the Mistry of Words Coffee Chats and started showing up on video through vlogging, I started seeing a whole new angle of growth.

So, show up. On video. In writing. On social media. In live events. Let your customers know who they’re buying from. In a world of bots, the real human becomes magnetic.

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5. Use the power of natural storytelling

For centuries, humans have connected through storytelling. It’s our natural superpower. So don’t lose it now.  Because your authentic, raw, real story can turn into a powerful message, especially when the hero of the story is you and not AI.

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Invest in Human-Led Creative Storytelling and Strategy

This is where a strategic partner becomes invaluable. Human copywriters, storytellers and brand strategists can help take your lived experience and turn it into powerful messaging—something AI still can’t replicate.

As we enter 2026 and AI continues accelerating across Australia, the businesses that will thrive aren’t the ones that automate everything—they’re the ones who stay unmistakably human even with AI by their side.

If you want support building a storytelling-led, future-proof brand voice for your business, I’m here as your strategic brand partner when you’re ready.

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