Why AI is Tanking Your Instagram Engagement (and What to Do Instead!)

Let’s be real... AI is basically screen time for business owners. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it saves brain power, but it also turns your content into bland, forgettable noise. If you’ve ever scrolled past a post that seemed fine but left zero impact, that’s the AI effect in action. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down why AI-generated content isn’t converting your followers into buyers, and what you should be doing instead to make your content actually work for you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why AI posts often blend into the noise (and how to make yours stand out)
✅ The key ingredient missing from AI-generated content that’s crucial for sales
✅ How to use AI without losing your personal touch
✅ Why generic Instagram strategies aren’t cutting it anymore—and what to do instead

🎉 BONUS: Special Offer Inside! 🎉
Because we’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, my husband's birthday, and 10 years of him being cancer-free (!!), I’m running a limited-time sale on the What the Heck to Post Content Map! Get three months of strategic, engagement-boosting content ideas tailored to you—for just $67 (normally $97!).

PLUS:

Bonus #1: The Engagement Checklist—step-by-step strategies to boost visibility & conversations
Bonus #2: The Fast Bio Formula—optimize your bio so new followers actually stick around

But hurry! This deal disappears Saturday, March 22nd → Grab it here!

Create a month of Instagram content that is strategized for sales in the free 5-day Plan it, Post it, Profit Challenge

Music courtesy of Pixabay

Transcript

Sydney: 1:05

Hello, hello, and welcome back to Mompreneur Mastery. This is your host, Sydney O'Brien, and today I want to talk about AI. You know how you open Instagram to scroll while you were sipping your coffee this morning, or maybe even before you got out of bed? Do you remember that post you scrolled by? The one that sounded, you know, just fine, but you can't remember a word of it now? That is what happens when AI takes over your content. Let's talk about what actually makes people stop, trust you, and buy. Let's be honest. AI is basically screen time for business owners. Like, we know we shouldn't rely on it too much but some days you just need a break. It feels like you cannot process another single thing in your own brain, so you use AI to crank something out quickly, and I totally get that. Like, I first very honestly want to validate that feeling. I have been in the same boat. I am usually in the same boat and I don't want to shame you or judge you. It's like when your kids have been fighting all morning. Their audiobook or whatever they're listening to or yelling about is so loud. It is the loudest thing on the planets and you just get so overstimulated by the mess and the to do list and that pile of dishes in the sink that's calling your name and you just need five minutes of quiet, right? So you hand over the iPad, the tablet, put on the TV. I get it. I have also been there many, many times. This is, I'm not shaming, I'm not passing judgment. It's survival. And AI for content is kind of the same thing for busy business owners, right? It's fast, it's easy, it saves brain power, and it checks something off your to do list all at the same time. So when you're running on fumes and knowing that's there for you, it is very easy to over rely on it. Now again, I love ai. I use it, but just like too much screen time turns kids into overstimulated gremlins. Too much AI can turn your content into bland forgettable noise, and we see it all the time. AI generated posts aren't just obvious. They tend to be forgettable. So like, yes, you're crossing that. content creation off your to do list, but it's not quite what it should be. I would much rather you focus on quality than just quantity, okay? Because this is where things start to fall apart. AI is great for speed, but it completely misses that personal connection that you really need on any social media platform that really makes People connect with you and trust you because that connection and trust is what is going to convert people into buyers for whatever it is that you're selling. Have you ever read an Instagram post and immediately been like, yep, AI generated. Maybe it's the ton of emojis in there, or there's like a couple phrases that I feel like is always a tell that AI has written it. Saying things like game changer or sales machine, just like really generic things. Especially when you know the person's content, like you've seen it before, and what you're reading doesn't quite match up with their voice, or how you think they would say it. It's very obviously AI. And that is the kind of stuff that blends in so much. It actually makes it harder for people to remember you, and it makes it harder for you to stand out which on a very saturated platform like Instagram is so necessary. And AI doesn't know your audience like you do. It can generate ideas. It can do so many things, but it cannot spark that same kind of engagement and connection that makes people want to stick around. And here is the kicker, people are getting burnt out on generic content. They don't want another AI generated post full of vague advice and motivational fluff. They want to read something and think, wow, they really get me. They want stories that make them feel like they're not alone. They want a reason to trust you over everyone else and AI can't quite do that for you. A lot of people have been complaining about low engagement on Instagram, and that's totally valid. It's happening It's kind of been happening. I feel like over a long period of time. It's just getting a little lower And I don't think that generic AI content is helping. You can absolutely use AI. I don't want to bash on AI a ton. You can absolutely use it as like a starting point. I use it all the time in my business for generating ideas and stuff. But if you're using it and putting in like, just copying and pasting things for content, it's not going to be as effective as your content should be for your business. But I totally get that. You keep trying different things on Instagram. You're still not getting that engagement that you need to, you know, get more visible and also to have conversations with your followers so that they convert into clients and buyers. And so you try something new and that happens to be something that also is fast and easy and doesn't take a lot of brain power from you. So like, why wouldn't you? It makes too much sense. But because it's not personal, because AI doesn't know all the things you know, and because it doesn't have that personal touch and connection, it's not going to get the same results. Now, if your goal is more engagement, some other people have told me they have tried just increasing their posting frequency or increasing their trending reels that they're using. Just hopping on more and more trends to try and get that engagement So if you're posting more often, but your content isn't making your audience feel like you're speaking directly to them, or if it's not showing them why they should trust you over anyone else, or if it's not sparking conversations, let alone conversations that actually leads to sales, you're just kind of throwing spaghetti at the wall and still wasting time. And that's where a lot of business owners get really frustrated and stuck and just feel kind of like quitting Instagram. It might be that you're creating content that educates, but doesn't actually move your audience towards buying. It might be that you're creating tips, but it doesn't position you as an expert. It might be that you're getting a couple of likes, but you're not building that trust that you need that actually leads to sales. And it is totally not your fault. There are a ton of free content planners and calendars and, like, post prompts and all kinds of things that are great for generating just Content, right? Just having something on your feed. That's kind of what those do. But they don't necessarily start the conversations that get you connected with your audience and they don't help you to create that content that shows you as the expert that you are so you can also have that trust that turns your followers into paying clients or buyers. That is why your content should work for you and not just fill your feed. And that's exactly what the what the heck to post content map helps you do Here is how you can make your content work for you instead of just posting and hoping for the best your content should make people Feel like they are in the right place the moment they read it right that they have found their people on Instagram It should show your audience why they should trust you, not just giving endless value potentially making working with you unjustifiable because you've given away so much value already. There's a balance there. When your content works for you, it'll also highlight your unique approach so that you stand out in your niche. For your super specific target audience, they will know you are the person that can help them with their problems. And it also creates engagement that actually leads somewhere, not just a handful of likes. It starts conversations that leads to more clients. And like I said, a lot of the stuff that you see on Instagram or in those freebie content calendars is just kind of like generic prompts that anyone can do or maybe, I'm sure you've seen those reels on Instagram where it's like, try these 20 viral hooks or like use this trending audio before it blows up, things like that. And they can be helpful. I'm not going to say those are always bad, for sure. But if it's not strategized for sales, and you're not using those hooks and prompts and things and, you know, creating the rest of your post around getting that engagement, fostering that connection, building that trust, it's not going to help your business because it's not going to help you get more sales. That is exactly why I created the what the heck to post content map because your content should work for you not just fill your feed We don't want just filler content to have something to post with maybe a focus on vanity metrics, but even then there's no strategy behind it. And you know me, I am not into fluff or vanity metrics. I am more into strategy for sales. And that is exactly what you get with the What the Heck to Post content map. How it works is you fill out a quick little form and it auto populates three months of post ideas tailored to you, your business, your specific audience. So you know exactly what to post to foster that connection and build the trust, so that your followers will actually end up buying from you. After just one week of using this one of my clients got a 37 percent increase in engagement and also said she saved about 2 hours of content creation time again, in just one week. And because today, or at least the day 17th, is a pretty big day In my house. I mean, we all know it is St. Patrick's Day, but it is also my husband's birthday and Tomorrow is actually a really exciting day in my house because Because it marks 10 years since my husband has been cancer free I know this has absolutely nothing to do with my business or Instagram, but I'm just very happy about it And so all of these things together. I wanted to celebrate and I'm having a sale because I don't know how else really to celebrate Business wise Without having a sale. So what I'm doing is you can save 30 on the what the heck to post content mob So normally it's 97 today you can get it for 67 and in addition to that discount, I'm also giving you two bonuses when you buy this week. So bonus number one is the engagement checklist, right? We all want more engagement. It's the lifeblood of Instagram and it also gets us talking to our audience so that we can have that connection, build that trust, get the sale, right? So the engagement checklist is a step by step guide. For what to do before your post, what to do with your post, what to do after your post to increase your engagement and have those connections with your followers, right? And then bonus number two is the fast bio formula. Because not only does engagement help you connect with your followers. It also helps your account get more visible. So when you're getting that visibility from all this new engagement, your bio is going to be extra important when these new people land on your profile. So you want to make sure your bio is optimized so they actually tap that follow button and can convert into buyers down the line. So all three of these things for only 67. Because having the right content is only part of the equation You also need to make sure it is working for you and your business and that is what these three things will do So, like I said, it's for this week only So the sale ends this Saturday the 22nd so head to the link in the show notes and grab it before it disappears