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The Modern Hairstylist ™ Podcast
Teaching you how to grow your beauty business as a hairstylist or salon owner without the overwhelm by implementing modern strategies so you can reclaim time, freedom and energy from working behind the chair.
The Modern Hairstylist ™ Podcast
Things You Should NOT Use AI For
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In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown get into a topic Hunter feels strongly about: the ways hairstylists and beauty professionals are misusing AI right now, and why it is quietly doing more damage than good to their brands, their businesses, and their client relationships.
Hunter is clear that this is not an anti-AI episode. He uses it extensively in his own business and with his students. But there is a big difference between using AI smartly and using it carelessly, and this episode is about helping you tell the difference before it costs you.
Key Takeaways:
🤖 AI Does Not Know Your Industry Better Than You Think It Does: When you ask a large language model for hairstylist specific business advice, it is pulling from what the majority of stylists have historically done online, which Hunter points out is largely ineffective. The industry has not had strong business fundamentals until recently, and AI is reflecting that back to you.
✍️ Do Not Let AI Write Your Copy From Scratch: If you cannot tell the difference between AI generated content and your own voice, you are not ready to be using it for captions, emails, or any client facing copy. Hunter explains how AI flattens your brand, creates a homogenized look and feel, and erodes the trust your audience has in you.
🖼️ AI Generated Images Are Being Clocked And Boycotted: Younger generations in particular are actively calling out and avoiding businesses that use AI generated visuals. Hunter is direct: right now, the risk to your brand reputation is not worth it.
💬 Never Use AI To Handle Hard Client Conversations: Outsourcing a difficult response to AI, whether it is a tough text exchange or a public review reply, is a risk to your most important relationships. Hunter shares a real example of a client who noticed and responded badly, and explains why human communication in high stakes moments is non-negotiable.
📊 Be Careful With AI Inside Your Booking System: From inaccurate metrics to privacy concerns around your client data, Hunter breaks down why the AI features being built into booking platforms deserve a lot more skepticism than most stylists are giving them.
🔒 Your Data Is Not As Private As You Think: Even when companies say they are not training on your data, they are storing your conversation history. Hunter walks through what that means for you legally and why feeding sensitive client information into these tools carries real risk.
Why You Should Listen: AI is not going anywhere, and Hunter is not asking you to stop using it. But if you are using it without the right knowledge or oversight, it could be quietly undermining your brand, your client trust, and your business data. This episode gives you the awareness to use it responsibly and stay ahead of the stylists who are getting it wrong.
