Output Not On-Brand

Output doesn't sound on-brand — how to fix

If posts Mavic generates feel generic, off-tone, or unlike your brand, the fix is usually in your Brand DNA — not in the prompt.

Diagnostic test

Open a fresh chat and ask:

Write three Instagram captions for our most popular product.

Read them. If they feel like:

"Generic AI" → your Brand Personality and Writing Style need work
"Aimed at no one specific" → your Customer Profiles need work
"Wrong about the product" → your Products & Services need detail
"Using words you'd never use" → add them to your Ban List

Fix 1: sharpen your Brand Personality

Vague personality descriptions produce vague output. Replace:

❌ "Friendly"
✅ "Friendly like a barista who remembers your usual order. Direct without being terse. Confident without being corporate."

Edit in Brand DNA → Brand Personality. See Brand Personality.

Fix 2: build a Writing Style for the channel

A Writing Style is the highest-leverage knob for copy quality. If you don't have one, generate one. If you do, make it more specific:

Pick a reference author whose style you want to match
Specify exact paragraph length, sentence flow, opening style, and closing style
Include 2–3 example excerpts in the style guide

See Writing Style.

Fix 3: tag a Customer Profile in the prompt

Don't write "for our customers" — @-tag a specific Customer Profile. The post should be aimed at one person, not a crowd.

Create three Instagram captions about our spring sale, written for @Solo Founder Sara, in @Friendly Conversational style.

See Using @ to reference brand data.

Fix 4: ban the AI clichés

Words like "unleash", "unlock", "harness", "leverage", "in today's fast-paced world" are dead giveaways of AI-written text. Add them to your Ban List.

In Brand DNA → Ban List, click Copy suggested ban list to start with Mavic's curated list of common AI words.

See Ban List.

Fix 5: refine in chat

Sometimes the fix is in the moment, not in Brand DNA. Tell Mavic what's wrong:

"This sounds too corporate. Rewrite in a more conversational tone, like you're texting a friend. Avoid corporate buzzwords."

Iterating in-chat is faster than fixing Brand DNA, but if the same fix keeps coming up, that's a signal to update Brand DNA.

Fix 6: train via examples

If you have past posts that hit the right tone, paste 2–3 of them into your Writing Style as inspiration. Mavic will mirror their style in future generations.

Fix 7: check your Brand Overview

In Brand DNA → Brand Overview, read the auto-generated summary of your brand. Does it sound like your brand?

If not, edit it directly or click Refresh to re-generate. Mavic uses this overview as a baseline for everything.

When to use a different model

The default Auto model is great for most tasks. If you've tuned Brand DNA and still feel outputs are generic, try the Auto dropdown in the chat composer and pick a more powerful model. Higher-quality models often pick up brand nuance better.

Updated: May 2026

Updated on: 07/05/2026

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