The Foundation of Trust: Writing for the Modern Skeptic in 2026
- Jana Simeonovska
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
We have reached peak generic.
Open your LinkedIn feed or your inbox. I dare you to find something original. Let me guess: you see a lot of nearly identical, AI-generated content that says... nothing really.
Three years into the AI explosion and the cost of generating words has dropped to zero. Everyone’s talking, but nobody’s saying anything.
And yet, many would say, “Anyone can make content now.”
(My take: no. :D)
This resulted in the value of words disappearing. Now, there’s this "high-quality" noise. Many B2B articles barely feel like they grasp a complex technical problem, let alone reflect the reality of solving one. We’ve reached a breaking point. Algorithms might love your 'search authority,' but it’s losing the person on the other side of the screen.
This is how we created a lack of trust. There’s a huge gap between the volume of content being published and the amount of it that people actually believe.
To bring that trust back, we have to remember who we are writing for:
The reader. The researcher. The skeptic. The decision-maker. The human.
The Evolution of the Modern Skeptic
It’s not that we just woke up one day and decided to hate AI. It’s that our human intuition has sharpened. We’ve spent hours upon hours upon hours looking at AI-generated text that we became experts at noticing when a human didn't put in the effort. (Not even a little bit.)
By now, we have subconsciously memorized the "AI pattern." We recognize the overly-polite tone, the predictable five-point listicles, the repetitive "In conclusion" summaries before we even read the intro.
The modern skeptic is… efficient.
Time is the most expensive thing they own, and they use this filter to protect it from nonsense. If your content looks like a generic prompt response, their brain skips it before they’ve even scanned your headline.
The modern skeptic didn't learn to hate AI. They learned to crave effort.
(And I don’t blame them. As a reader myself, I crave it, too!)
This philosophy, prioritizing human effort over automated output, is why I started Content by Jana. I wanted to create a space where content isn't treated as a commodity to be "generated," but as value to be built.
The Algorithm Trap
For years, companies were obsessed with "feeding the bot." First, it was Google. Now, it’s LLM-indexing and AI chatbots. Everyone is racing to be the answer ChatGPT provides.
But if you only write for the chatbot, you become part of the chatbot’s "average." You lose the very thing that makes you a choice worth making.
Your authenticity.
While an AI indexes your information, it isn't the one who decides to buy from you. The decision-maker, the human, is the one who does. If a chatbot recommends your brand but the user clicks through to find a robotic resource hub… the foundation of trust is gone. Algorithms can help you be noticed, but only humans can make you trusted!
How Do You Stop Sounding Like a Bot?
There are many ways to make your writing sound genuine, credible, and to the point. It’s a craft that goes much deeper than a few tips. But as a start, here are a few practical things I use to move content from 'generic' to 'important.'
1. Forget the "universal" intro
If I see one more intro that starts with "In the ever-evolving digital landscape"… I’ll lose it.
We know the world has changed. Stating the very obvious isn't the "hook" you think it is. The problem isn't that it's misinformation (the landscape is quite literally ever-evolving), it's that the phrase has been sooo abused by copy-paste AI prompts that it’s lost its power.
Instead, start with a detail. Use an observation from a client call, a project that didn't go as planned, a heated LinkedIn debate… Even a chat with a colleague about a specific problem. Base your opening in a mess from the real world. You have 5 seconds to prove you’re a person, so use them to show the reader you understand their reality.
P.S. Just had an idea while writing this: A blog post on the overused "AI phrases" that fill up everyone's feeds. Stay tuned :D
2. Swap "What is X?" for "How we solved X"
Your readers don’t need dictionary definitions, they have Wikipedia for that. I’ve seen too much content that goes, "X is this" and "Y does that." If your entire piece is structured like that, it becomes useless to a decision-maker.
Do not waste your opportunity to connect. Bring in a real person. Reach out to a teammate, a client, anyone in your network who has dealt with the topic. Adding a "lesson learned" or a mini-case study suggests that your content is based on proof. It’s a win-win: your writing gets better, you show expertise, and your reader gets value.
3. Master the "staccato" rhythm
Shorter is better, yes, but you need to vary the rhythm. If every sentence is the same length, the reader’s brain will turn off. So mix. Intentionally. Brief, punchy statements with more descriptive ones. That way, you create a dynamic flow that holds interest.
To be clear - I’m not talking about breaking grammar rules. As writers, we understand how language works, we know when to speed up and when to take it slow. Breaking a long thought into a few smaller ones is a creative choice. It just makes sure your main point doesn't get lost in boring text.
4. Show the “not-so-perfect” parts
AI chatbots are "pleasers." They’re programmed to be confident, so no matter what you ask, they will most likely just agree with you. Ask a chatbot if synergy is the key to success and it will give you five paragraphs of enthusiastic "Yes!"
But we know that real business is far more messy. If your content sounds "too perfect," it starts to sound fake.
Find a spot where you can be boldly real. Point out a potential problem or give a reality check. When you’re honest about the parts that are complicated or difficult, you stop sounding like someone who’s being pushy to make a sale. You start sounding like a partner who knows how business works.
5. Give them something they can use now
Don't just describe a problem, give your reader a way to start fixing it! In the middle of your piece, pull out a specific, 2-minute task they can do right away. This moves the conversation from "here’s more info" to "here’s a result."
When you give a skeptic a small result for free, you change the relationship. Now, you’re someone who helped them get a win. It makes it much more likely that they’ll bookmark your link or come back to you later because you were actually useful, rather than just taking up their time.
Strategy Before Sentences
"Good writing" doesn't make you stand out. It’s just the bare minimum (it’s always been that way!).
In my work as a Content Writer & Editor, I’ve seen even the most beautiful sentences fail because they had nowhere to go. This is why the full editorial lifecycle matters. One strategically managed asset is worth more than 50 blog posts published just for the sake of having something go out every day.
You build trust when your content feels intentional. It’s about knowing where the content belongs, how it connects to the reader's pain points, and how it serves the decision-maker after they’ve finished reading it.
Where We Go From Here
For sure, AI can mimic intelligence, but it cannot mimic you. And the boldest thing you can be for the modern skeptic in 2026 is authentic. :)
It all comes back to the only thing that matters in (B2B, or any) content marketing:
The reader. The researcher. The skeptic. The decision-maker. The human.
If you want to build a foundation of trust, give them a reason to stay. Don't audit your content just for keywords. Audit it for human value. Look at your latest blog post or email campaign and ask yourself:
Is this worth a human's time? Would I, as a skeptic, stay on this page?
If the answer isn't 'yes,' you're losing their attention. So go back and give it purpose. Because, if you cannot find it, your reader won't either.
Cheers,
Jana
