Brand positioning is a data problem now, and AI is the strategic advantage

For years, brand positioning lived in workshops. Whiteboards. Post-it notes. A handful of senior opinions. And pizza! Sometimes it worked. Often it didn’t. Today, that approach is outdated and it’s risky.

Modern brand positioning is no longer a creative exercise, it’s a data problem and the brands pulling ahead are the ones using AI not as a gimmick, but as a strategic lens to understand markets, shape perception, and win trust before customers even arrive on their website.

This is the quiet shift happening beneath most boardroom conversations. And it’s reshaping how serious brands define who they are.

The uncomfortable truth about positioning

I’ll be blunt. Most brands don’t fail because they lack creativity. They fail because they misread reality.

They:

• Believe they’re known for one thing when the market knows them for another

• Sound indistinguishable from competitors

• Optimise messaging for channels customers no longer trust

• React to perception problems after revenue has already taken the hit

That’s not a marketing problem. It’s a decision-making problem and decision-making improves when insight improves.

Here’s six data pillars that now define brand positioning

If positioning is about owning a clear, credible, and differentiated place in the mind of the market, then these are the data inputs that matter most. Not vanity metrics. Not dashboards for dashboards’ sake. Decision-grade insight.

1. Audience truth, not personas

Most personas are fiction. Well-written fiction, but fiction nonetheless.

What actually matters is:

• What people are trying to achieve

• What frustrates them

• What language they naturally use

• What stops them buying

This is qualitative insight at quantitative scale.

Where AI changes the gameAI can analyse thousands of real conversations – reviews, forums, comments, transcripts, search queries – and surface patterns humans simply cannot see alone.

Not demographics but Motivations, fears, motional triggers. That’s where positioning lives.

2. Brand perception – the market’s version of you

You do not own your brand. Your customers, critics, employees, and increasingly AI systems do.

Brand positioning must start with a clear answer to one question: “How are we actually described when we’re not in the room?”

This includes:

• Sentiment over time

• Language consistently associated with your brand

• Gaps between intent and reality

Where AI adds leverage

AI can continuously monitor how your brand is framed across media, social, communities, and even AI-generated responses.

This matters because perception doesn’t shift overnight , it drifts. And drift, left unchecked, becomes decline.

3. Competitive context – differentiation only exists in comparison

There is no such thing as a “unique” message in isolation. Positioning only exists relative to alternatives.

That means understanding:

• What competitors claim

• What proof points they lean on

• Where the category sounds tired, generic, or overpromised

Where AI sharpens strategy

AI can map entire categories at speed – identifying repeated narratives, emerging angles, and crucially, white space.

Not invented differentiation. Earned differentiation.

4. Search, intent, and AI discovery (SEO is no longer enough)

Here’s the shift many brands haven’t caught up with yet: Positioning now happens before someone visits your site.

Customers ask:

• “Which brand is best for…”

• “What’s the difference between…”

• “Is this company trustworthy?”

And increasingly, AI answers first. This is where Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) becomes central to brand strategy.

Where AI plays both sides

AI helps you understand:

• What questions people are actually asking

• How AI models summarise your brand and competitors

• Whether your positioning survives compression into a single paragraph

If AI gets your brand wrong, your positioning is already failing.

5. Message performance – positioning tested in the wild

Positioning is not what you say. It’s what lands.

That means understanding:

• Which messages resonate

• Which claims build trust

• Which narratives stall engagement

Where AI removes guesswork

AI enables rapid testing, prediction, and refinement of messaging before and after launch.

This turns positioning from a fixed statement into a living system – adaptive, responsive, and commercially aligned.

6. Cultural and market signals – positioning must be future-facing

The biggest positioning failures are not tactical. They’re temporal.

Brands anchor themselves to:

• Outdated expectations

• Old language

• Yesterday’s values

Where AI offers foresightAI can surface weak signals – emerging themes, language shifts, regulatory or cultural change – early enough to act.

This isn’t trend-chasing. It’s relevance insurance.

The real role of AI in brand positioning

Let’s be clear about something. AI does not replace strategy, AI replaces blind spots.

Used properly, it:

• Accelerates insight

• Improves confidence in decision-making

• Reduces reliance on internal opinion

• Sharpens differentiation

• Protects reputation upstream

Used badly, it just produces more noise.

The brands getting this right are not asking AI to “write positioning”. They’re asking AI to reveal reality – then making better strategic choices as leaders.

From workshop exercise to strategic system

The biggest shift is structural.

Brand positioning used to be:

• Periodic

• Subjective

• Internally led

Now it must be:

• Continuous

• Evidence-led

• Market-driven

This is not about more data. It’s about better questions and clearer decisions.

The boardroom implication is simple: If you cannot articulate how data informs your positioning, then your brand strategy is operating on belief, not proof.

And belief is a fragile thing in competitive markets.

The Grey Sergeant view

Strong brands are not louder. They are clearer.

Clarity comes from understanding:

• What the market believes

• Where you are trusted

• Where you are vulnerable

• Where you can credibly lead

AI gives leaders a sharper lens – but only if they treat brand positioning as a strategic discipline, not a creative afterthought.

The question is no longer “What do we want to say?” It’s “What story is already being told about us and is it the one we’d choose?”

That’s where modern brand leadership begins.

About the author

Michael O’Connor is a partner at Grey Sergeant, specialising in PR, communications, and engagement across the healthcare and non-profit sectors. Through his consultancy Grey Sergeant, he helps healthcare organisations define their brand, strengthen their reputation, and communicate with clarity. For more information, contact michael.oconnor@greysergeant.com