Intelligent Empathy
Artificial Intelligence still raises eyebrows in many organizations. But in a time when markets are evolving faster than ever, AI offers a unique opportunity: it helps brands understand what people truly want. Beyond automated content creation, new AI tools are capable of detecting valuable patterns, cultural codes, and personal preferences hidden in vast, complex datasets that humans might miss.
In this interview, Kirsten Ives, Head of Strategy at moodley, shares how precisely AI can decode human needs – and what that unlocks for brand building.
How can AI be used strategically to strengthen brands?
A brand doesn’t begin with a logo – it begins with understanding. The more deeply we grasp what drives people – their desires, fears, and motivations – the more meaningfully we can shape a brand. This is where AI is becoming a gamechanger: it can analyze massive amounts of data, from customer feedback to internal reviews, and detect patterns that human teams might miss or misinterpret.
AI becomes a catalyst for strategic work.
Its greatest potential lies not in automating content, but in decoding emotion—recognizing what influences purchasing decisions and identifying the most meaningful touchpoints between people and brands.
Few AI tools currently support brands through this kind of complexity. That’s exactly where moodley steps in. In collaboration with startups, we’re developing methods that move beyond surface-level analytics. Our systems don’t just process large datasets – they capture the emotional perception of a brand and translate it into strategic insight with maximum impact.
One such solution is AWARE – moodley’s AI-supported listening and analysis tool that empowers brands to sharpen their positioning through data-driven intelligence.
In what ways is AI superior to humans?
AI has the ability to process multiple opinions simultaneously, extracting clear, objective insights from this diversity. While humans have selective perception, and our brains unconsciously decide which information enters our awareness and which doesn't, AI is able to detect subtle signals, unconscious desires, and so-called cultural codes that influence our thoughts and actions.
What do people really think and feel?
And what are their unconscious desires?
One of AI's greatest strengths is its ability to represent a broad range of opinions and extract valuable insights through a form of objective feedback. Unlike humans, AI remains neutral – it reflects what is, not what we wish to believe. For companies, this represents a significant step toward making better decisions. Free from personal biases and the negative influence of entrenched opinions.
How well does AI truly understand us humans?
In the beginning, AI was limited to quantitatively analyzing online reviews. While it processed vast amounts of words and numbers, the true meaning remained elusive. Phrases like "not the best" were difficult for AI to interpret. Today, with the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs), a deeper, more nuanced analysis is possible: they can now recognize emotions and cultural differences – the human element behind the words.
Let’s take a Google review as an example. A star rating is a reaction, but it reveals little about the actual motivations. It becomes even more complex in an international context: In Austria, criticism is often more direct than, for example, in India or South America, where similar wording might be perceived as unusually harsh. AI can act as a bridge between cultures, capable of decoding the true meaning behind a review.
And its capabilities go even further: By analyzing writing style, word choice, and dialect, it can infer demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, education level, and origin. With each new training phase, AI becomes more precise, not just understanding language but also capturing context, allowing it to empathize with the people behind the words.
AI provides the stage for humans
to perform – not the other way around.
What role do we humans play as AI becomes smarter?
AI is a powerful tool, but it lacks a moral compass or an inner guide like a human. Its strength lies in precision and computational power, not creativity or empathy. It does not generate its own ideas, nor does it follow beliefs or values; it merely reflects what it has learned from data and human interactions. This is why humans remain indispensable in brand development: with their intuition, the art of storytelling, and decisions that transcend logic.
How will AI shape brand development in the coming years?
AI will make it easier for companies to understand customer desires, bridging the often significant gap between internal perspectives and what the market and people truly want.
Understanding the genuine desires, aspirations, and needs of people will become increasingly crucial for building a successful brand.
Kirsten Ives
This progress is crucial for business success in many ways – from efficiency gains to optimized marketing strategies. Many companies mistakenly believe they can remain market leaders without significant effort and invest too little in future-oriented branding. AI helps avoid such misjudgments by identifying and leveraging early shifts in customer behavior and new preferences. Although data-driven, this approach remains fundamentally human. AI acts as a bridge between strategy and emotion.
The prospect of AI giving us greater, easier access to knowledge and relevant information is very promising for strengthening brands. Constant availability could grant us space for new ways of thinking and lead us more quickly to creative solutions.
Conclusion:
AI is not a replacement for human connection. It is a tool to deepen it.
Create deeper customer understanding: AI eliminates silo thinking. It helps us capture people in all their depth – with all their contradictions, desires, and cultural influences.
Unleash resonance and growth: AI takes over monotonous tasks, analyzes Big Data, and creates space for real creativity – for humans who want to think beyond the obvious.
Develop strategy with substance: AI provides the foundation for bold brand work – through precise insights, informed decisions, and concepts that truly make an impact.
