Why We Like Stories
We like stories because a good one grabs our attention, builds tension and lets us live through someone else’s struggle for a few minutes. When that happens, we understand the point better, remember it longer and become more willing to act. For marketers, that’s the whole game. And in a world where AI can produce endless made-up stories, the scarce thing is a true one.
Originally published September 24, 2024. Rewritten for the AI era on October 26, 2026.
Why do people like stories?
Because stories make us feel what someone else feels, and feelings move us to act.
The neuroscientist Paul Zak has studied this for years. His lab found that character-driven stories consistently caused the brain to make oxytocin, a chemical tied to empathy and trust. The more oxytocin people released, the more willing they were to help others, for example by donating to a charity linked to the story. His team also found that a story first has to hold attention by building tension. Character-driven stories with emotional content also led to better understanding of a speaker’s key points, and better recall weeks later (Harvard Business Review).
Treat the brain chemistry as one lab’s findings, not settled science. But the practical lesson holds up in every meeting I’ve ever been in. People remember the story and forget the slide.
How do stories change minds that are already made up?
They let people lower their guard.
At a CIO roundtable I attended, participants were asked what they thought of various enterprise IT providers. The opinions were strong, and most were based on limited experiences that were often more than a decade old. People are stubborn, and we pick sides.
You don’t break through that with a feature list. You break through it with a story that pulls people out of their day-to-day world. When we read a story or watch a film, we give ourselves permission to imagine another reality and think differently, at least for a while. That’s the opening a marketer needs.
Why do true stories matter more now that AI can write?
Because anyone can now generate a story. Not everyone can tell a true one.
AI can produce a polished customer story in seconds. It can’t produce the customer. Buyers are noticing the difference. In Cint’s August 2026 survey of about 1,000 U.S. consumers, 46% said they dislike seeing AI-generated people in ads, the most disliked kind of AI creative tested, and 74% said brands have a duty to disclose AI use in advertising (Cint).
AI answers reward truth too. Google tells publishers that a first-hand perspective is what stands out, while a summary of existing content “simply restates information already available elsewhere” (Google). A real story with real stakes is first-hand by definition.
| A story that works | A story that doesn’t |
|---|---|
| A real person or team, named with permission | A composite “customer” no one can find |
| A real problem with real stakes | A problem made up to fit the product |
| Tension: something could go wrong | Smooth sailing from start to finish |
| A specific result someone can check | “Dramatically improved outcomes” |
| Told in the customer’s words | Told in the brochure’s words |
How should marketers use storytelling now?
Collect true stories on purpose, and tell them with the tension left in.
- Start a story file. After every win, loss and hard project, write down what was at stake, what almost went wrong and what happened. This is the memory AI can’t supply.
- Lead with the character, not the company. Zak’s research points to character-driven stories. Your customer is the hero.
- Keep the struggle in. Without tension, there’s no attention.
- End with something checkable. A result, a quote, a name. That’s what makes a story proof.
- Use AI to shape it, not to invent it. Let AI help with drafts and edits. Never let it make up a customer, a quote or a number.
At D Custom, in 2019, we built discovery-led storytelling for UT Southwestern, written for curious generalists. Stories written for the reader you actually have travel further than stories written to impress experts.
For how this connects to understanding buyers, see Empathy in Marketing: The One Thing Synthetic Audiences Can’t Fake. For turning that understanding into a position, see chapter 1 of our guide.
Where do you start?
Pick one customer whose story you’d tell if you could. Ask them. If you want help finding and shaping the stories that will carry your brand, talk to me about advisory support.
AI can write a thousand stories. Your buyers only need one that’s true.
