For Gen Z, AI isn't a shiny new tool — it's the default workspace. Gen Z workers open ChatGPT before their inbox. They use AI to summarize reports (or long emails from boomers), generate content, and pressure-test claims.
This AI-first mindset changes how Gen Z experiences B2B brands. While your brand's visual identity is important, what really matters is whether your brand feels honest, sounds human, and delivers on what it promises. If a Gen Z prospect can't instantly grasp who your brand is and what you offer through your website, your social posts, or an AI-generated summary about your company, they move on.
Before you complain about walking to school uphill both ways, pause and remember how easy it was for you to use tools integrated into your workflow early on. You understand the benefits of using a CRM over an actual Rolodex, and even if you memorized the Dewey Decimal System in grade school, you're probably going to choose a Google search over a trip to your local library to look something up. To Gen Z, AI is no different.
And in this increasingly AI-native world, branding is a living experience — your voice, your clarity, your digital footprint, and how easily AI or a search engine can explain you. Gen Z expects authentic messaging that holds up when condensed by AI, plain-language copy instead of overworked jargon, and content structured with clear headings and strong SEO so AI tools can recommend you at all.
Gen Z wants brands not only to be AI-friendly, but transparent about how they use AI. We've said it before (and we'll likely say it again), but this is why it's so important to have an AI policy at your company — especially for your marketing team — as transparency about how you use AI tools will enhance brand trust.
Learn more from a Gen Z marketing intern here.
About the Author
Abby White
Vice President, Content Studio
Abby White is a content strategist, newsroom-trained writer, and brand storyteller. As Vice President of EndeavorB2B’s Content Studio, she leads client-driven custom content programs across 90+ brands and the content strategy for topic and role-based newsletters serving executive audiences. An award-winning journalist with a marketer’s mindset, Abby brings 25 years of experience leading editorial, communications, marketing, and audience-building efforts across industries.
Abby launched her first magazine, Abby’s Top 40, in 1988 and made everyone in her family read it. While attending the University of Illinois, she paid her rent as a professional notetaker, which might explain why she still gets asked to take notes in meetings. Since then, she has held editorial leadership roles at an alt weekly, a newspaper, a luxury lifestyle magazine, a business journal, a music magazine, and regional women’s magazines, developing a sharp writing edge and a conversational tone that resonates with professional audiences.
She expanded into marketing while leading communications for an entertainment industry nonprofit and later drove rebranding and audience-building efforts for an NPR music station. At EndeavorB2B, she has been instrumental in driving editorial excellence, developing scalable content strategies across multiple verticals, and building the foundation for EDGE, the company’s portfolio of executive newsletters.
And if you’re a writer interested in contributing to MarketingEDGE, she’s the person you need to (politely) bug.
Resources
Quiz
Your Competitive Edge, DeliveredElevate your strategy with weekly insights from marketing leaders who are redefining engagement and growth. From campaign best practices to creative innovation and data-driven trends, MarketingEDGE delivers the ideas and inspiration you need to outperform your competition.
