Without doubt, AI is already transforming productivity across many industries, expanding access to knowledge and accelerating workflows that once took hours or days, so they can be completed in seconds. Branding and marketing have not been immune. From automated research and sentiment analysis to large-scale idea generation, AI is reshaping how agencies approach strategy, creativity and execution; raising a fundamental question – will AI replace human creativity, or redefine it?
Brand naming and AI
Brand naming sits at the intersection of strategy, language, culture and emotion. The brand naming process needs to be both analytical and deeply intuitive. AI has proven remarkably capable at handling the former. Large language models can digest vast quantities of cultural data, social discourse, search behaviour and competitive landscapes; then generate thousands of potential names in seconds. They can screen those names against linguistic rules, phonetic patterns, trademark databases, domain availability and even flag obvious negative meanings across multiple languages.
However, the problem with existing AI name ‘agents’ is that the naming outputs are, how can I put it, rubbish. Just try some of the slickly-interfaced naming agents to see what I mean. They will provide simplistic names with domains in seconds, but would you really build your business on their outputs?
AI augmented human brand naming
Instead, we set out to harness the power of LLMs paired with our own naming workflows, developed over the past two decades and proven over hundreds of naming projects, initially at least, not to automate the end-to-end process, but to expand our naming inputs and automate the essential but time-consuming screening, so we can check name viability in minutes.
Developed together with our group company, Evoleus, we created Third Lens®, aiming for an enterprise quality solution to be used and orchestrated by our naming consultants. Version 1.0 was impressive, pulling-in vast contextual intelligence and identifying a much wider range of naming themes than a comparable human process, but we found it hard to get the LLMs to think creatively and the naming outputs were quite predictable. By experimenting with different LLMs and allowing more opportunities for human intervention, we saw much higher quality outputs in versions 1.1 and 1.2, but a major re-engineering to more closely follow our human process has resulted in version 2.0, which now consistently delivers much more intuitive and interesting naming solutions.
Third Lens® screens its names, human variations and pure human concepts against brand strategy inputs, linguistic rules, phonetic patterns, trademark databases, domain availability, and even flags obvious negative meanings across languages, delivering speed, scale and efficiency that would be impossible for humans alone.
We think we’ve harnessed the undeniable strengths of AI in naming: expansion and reduction. LLMs expand the universe of possible names by drawing from global language, culture and metaphor at unprecedented scale. Then they reduce that universe by applying consistent, tireless logic across complex criteria. In this sense, AI is not threatening naming expertise; it is industrialising the parts of the process that were previously slow, manual and cognitively exhausting.
However, the leap from “possible” to “evocative” remains profoundly human.
The difference between good and great brand names
Great brand names do more than pass checks. They carry tension, story and intent. They often succeed precisely because they break patterns, challenge conventions – like ‘Liquid Death’ for canned spring water – or feel emotionally resonant in ways that cannot be fully rationalised. While AI can identify patterns in successful names, it cannot yet originate meaning with intention. It does not understand what a name must risk to stand-out, nor when ambiguity, imperfection or provocation is strategically valuable rather than dangerous.
So, our insight published a year ago holds true: strategy-first, human-led decision-making is critical. Naming is not an isolated output; it is an expression of positioning, ambition and cultural context. Without a clear strategic point of view, AI systems will tend toward statistical safety – names that sound plausible, inoffensive and familiar. These may be efficient, but they rarely become iconic.
The choice therefore is not between human or AI naming. AI acts as an intelligent collaborator rather than an author. Third Lens® now allows us humans to define the strategic framework, cultural ambition and creative direction, while its AI then expands the field, introducing unexpected linguistic roots, global references and semantic connections, while also rigorously screening outputs for risk. The human role shifts from manual generation to orchestration, judgment and synthesis.
This approach addresses one of the growing challenges in the AI era: sameness. As more organisations use similar models trained on similar data, the risk of convergent creativity increases. Human oversight is essential to spot when a name feels algorithmically “correct” but emotionally hollow, or when it echoes trends rather than defines them. Human intuition remains the safeguard against a future of brands that sound competent but indistinguishable.
Equally important is cultural sensitivity. While AI can surface potential linguistic issues at scale, understanding cultural nuance – what feels authentic versus fake, bold versus insensitive – requires lived experience and contextual awareness. These judgments are not binary and they evolve all the time. Human brand consultants remain best placed to navigate this complexity, using AI as an early warning system rather than a final arbiter.
Looking forward, the future of brand naming is not less human, it is more deliberately human. Agentic workflows, like Third Lens®, will continue to automate research, expand creative inputs and enforce rigour across legal and linguistic constraints, shortening timelines and reducing risk. But the final act of choosing a name that captures a brand’s emotional promise and cultural intent will remain a human decision, informed by emotion, taste, courage and imagination.
In this sense, we don’t think AI diminishes the role of naming experts; the current reality is that proprietary AI agents can redefine and elevate their efforts and gives them an edge. By removing ‘mechanical’ burdens, it creates more space for strategic intuition, big ideas and emotional insight. The most evocative brand names will not be generated by machines alone. They will be creatively orchestrated by human experts, using AI agents to see further, test harder, and decide more wisely than ever before.
Peter Matthews
Founder & CEO
22nd January 2026
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