We like AI.
We use AI. We talk to AI more than is probably healthy.
But after watching hundreds of teams try to name their businesses with it, we kept seeing the same pattern.
They'd open ChatGPT. Paste in a thoughtful brief. Get excited for about one minute. Then slowly spiral into:
"Hmm."
"No."
"Isn't that already taken?"
"Why does everything sound like fake startup on an episode of Silicon Valley?"
Eventually, they'd land on a name they didn't love but were too tired to keep fighting.
That's not a naming strategy. That's surrender.
So we made a small booklet called Why AI Stinks at Brand Naming.
Not because AI is bad. It's not (yet).
But because naming is harder than people think.
Great names don't come from autocomplete. They come from judgment, tension, taste & the uncomfortable work of deciding what actually matters. AI is fantastic at speeding things up. It's just not great at telling you when something is boring, risky, or wrong.
This booklet breaks down where AI helps, where it falls apart, and why "just asking ChatGPT" usually leaves you with Flux, Pulse, or something that sounds vaguely like a spaceship.
If you're naming something important and wondering why it feels harder than it should—this will feel familiar. And hopefully a little relieving.
You're not bad at naming. The shortcut is.
Grab the booklet here.
It's short.
And unlike most AI-generated names, it's actually useful.
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