By Esther Choy

The first warning sign came on stage.

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I had turned to ChatGPT to help organize research notes for an upcoming keynote. I was pressed for time and wanted help spotting patterns I might have missed. That seemed harmless enough. Then the tool offered to help write the speech.

I was tempted. I let it try.

The result was cohesive, polished and snappy. It was based on my own research. It sounded good. Maybe too good.

Then I stood in front of an audience and did something I had not done in more than 30 years of public speaking: I read from the page. The words were mine in one sense, but they had not passed through me in the usual way. For a moment, I stopped trusting myself.

When trust thins

AI is remarkable. It saves time. It can sharpen a rough thought, organize a pile of notes and help a busy professional get moving. But there is another side to the bargain. Used carelessly, AI can weaken the thing leaders need most: trust in their judgment, voice and creative instincts.

That loss of trust does not stay private.

Before an upcoming webinar, I sent an email to a co-presenter. We had presented on the topic before, though it had been a few months. He wrote back warmly, then added a question: “Just out of curiosity, did you have AI write the email below?”

No, I told him. I had typed it myself.

Later I learned that when he suspected the email was AI-generated, he had stopped reading closely. He assumed it was not worth his full time or attention. He had opened the message looking not just for information, but for connection. Once he thought a machine had mediated that connection, the trust began to thin.

Keep judgment first

That is the leadership problem now emerging around AI-assisted communication. The issue is not simply whether AI makes writing faster. It is whether people receiving our messages still believe there is a person fully present behind them.

Companies are adopting AI quickly. Deloitte’s 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report found that organizations broadened worker access to sanctioned AI tools by 50 percent in one year, growing from fewer than 40 percent of workers to around 60 percent. That makes the trust question more urgent, not less. If AI helps us produce more polished communication while colleagues, clients and audiences feel less certain about our intent, the efficiency gain carries a hidden cost.

So how should leaders use AI without flattening their own voice or weakening human connection?

First, write something yourself before asking AI to improve it. Michael Smart, a public relations coach, warns against what he calls “anchoring,” when AI’s first answer overrides your experience and instincts from the start. His advice is simple: draft first, then use AI for iteration, brainstorming or pressure-testing. That keeps your judgment in the lead.

Warmth beats polish

Second, know when polish is not the goal. Some messages need warmth more than efficiency. A note to a colleague, a client check-in or a message after a difficult meeting may not benefit from sounding smoother. It may benefit from sounding unmistakably human.

Third, create more script-free moments. In meetings, that can mean opening with a question that invites a short personal story, not a status update. When people have room to speak in their own words, misunderstandings surface faster. Authenticity becomes easier to read. Connection has a chance to form before everyone rushes back to the next task.

AI wants our attention and data. It does not care whether we grow. Leaders have to care about that part.

The most effective communicators will not be the ones who use AI to sound flawless. They will be the ones who use it carefully while protecting curiosity, judgment and trust. Quick answers are useful. But in moments that matter, the right question, asked by a real person, may still be the more powerful tool.

About the essayist: Esther Choy is founder of Leadership Story Lab and an expert in leadership communication and business storytelling. Her latest book is Winning Without Persuading.

May 20th, 2026 | Essays | Top Stories