Designing trust, character, and connection through conversational AI
As brands race to adopt AI faster than they can define their voice, a new question is emerging: What happens when your brand starts talking back?
Not in marketing campaigns or automated push notifications, but in real, human-like conversations.
That’s the question at the heart of the second session of FYI (For Your Imagination), our ongoing series created for brand leaders who want fresh insight, bold ideas, and new ways to think about the future of experience.
In this latest episode, When your brand starts talking back, we explore what it means when AI becomes a brand’s conversational interface and how organisations can design interactions that build trust, create emotional connection, and deliver real commercial impact.
What we explored in this session
- Why conversation builds trust faster than traditional marketing
- How brands can design AI with tone, personality, and character
- Real-world examples of conversational AI experiences in action
- Where conversational interfaces are heading next and what it means for brands
Hosted by Imagination’s Chief Strategy Officer, Tom Gray, in our London Lab, the session featured behavioural scientist Professor Guy Champniss, Imagination’s Global Creative Technology Director Simon Levitt, and Georgia Blanco-Litchfield and Gavin Wilmot from Engineered Arts, pioneers in social and humanoid robotics. The panel was also joined by an unexpected guest: Ami, a conversational humanoid robot.
Together, the group explored why conversation is rapidly becoming the next frontier of brand experience.
From the science behind why dialogue builds trust faster than traditional messaging, to the creative challenge of designing AI with tone, cadence, and personality, the discussion unpacked what it really takes to make conversational AI feel meaningful rather than mechanical.
Because if AI becomes the voice of your brand, every interaction becomes a brand moment – shaping perception, trust, and loyalty in real time.
The full session explores where this technology is heading next, from personalised AI companions to voice-led interfaces that could eventually replace the search box entirely.
Watch the full episode to hear the panel’s perspectives and dive into conversational AI in action.
FYI is an ongoing series exploring the ideas shaping the future of brand experience. Each session brings together experts from different disciplines to challenge assumptions, provoke new thinking, and imagine what comes next.
To explore any of the topics discussed, or to speak with our strategy and experience design teams about how conversational AI could shape your brand experience, contact newbusiness@imagination.com.
And if you want to be first to hear about upcoming FYI sessions, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter.
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January 29, 2026