I’ve been thinking a lot about AI and how it is going to impact different industries. Sometimes, the anxiety sets in and it feels like doomsday, and other days I try to draw comparisons to really consider how it will show up in our business and our clients’.

One market that always intrigues me is the luxury space, mainly because that’s who we serve and who our clients do as well. We have clients currently interested in AI, how they can use it to make their lives easier, how they can be more efficient in workflows, and how it can take over tasks. But it got me thinking: does AI have a place in a luxury experience?

When I think of luxury at its core—hospitality, warmth, customization, anticipation, and creativity. I think of service, of those who create, tailor, adapt, and serve with care. These aren’t things AI can do. I can’t walk into a hotel and feel that same level of care from a computer check-in experience. That’s not luxury. I can’t receive a logo design, created by a database run by ChatGPT, and know that it’s an original thought. It’s instantly lost a hand-touched feel, a subtle nuance that is only felt through human hands.

When I look back at history and where luxury brands emerged—when you think of Chanel’s first hat or Porsche’s first sports car, they were crafted by artisans, true makers of vision. Luxury held form for decades for the select few. As wealth grew, the idea of luxury expanded. It exploded into bigger brands, flashier logos, and coveted displays of money. But what happens when everyone has access to luxury? A new ideal comes forward. That’s where Quiet Luxury grew. Brands like Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piana stood for something different: no logos, no labels, just quality, fabrics, feel, colour, texture, and poise. Suddenly, logos were for those who could not afford to be quiet. There is money that speaks, and money that is unknown.

For AI, that’s how I envision its impact on the world of luxury. ChatGPT will remain accessible. It will create designs that are borrowed, and words that feel empty. It will take over much of life for simple tasks and immediately invalidate a sense of luxury, because discerning people can see through it. They care. They pay for more because they expect more. They want more. They crave more. They want escape, care, they want to feel like things are done just for them.

For makers and services who cater to the world of luxury, I believe AI will make things feel cold, unnatural. And people will eventually crave that sense of nostalgic service. They will pay more for unique experiences—for a website that doesn’t look generated, a photograph that isn’t fake, a piece of clothing that wasn’t automated.

There is a place for AI, I get that. I even embrace it. I think the next few generations will be greatly shaped by what is rapidly evolving. And as humans, as soon as something feels easy, we take it. And we adapt. And industries change. What Airbnb originally did to hotels just pushed forward unbelievable hotel design and experiences. What Uber Eats did to takeout pushed chefs to reconsider what inside dining looked like. What Shein did to fast fashion pushed small brands to take a stand for sustainability.

So while AI will undoubtedly reshape industries, including our own, it won’t replace the essence of luxury. True luxury is felt, not automated. It lives in the pause, the personal touch, the imperfection that makes something unforgettable. For those of us who serve this space, the opportunity isn’t to compete with AI, but to lean even deeper into what makes our work human.