Last month, Fast Company published an article titled “Naming a brand can cost more than $50,000. This new AI-powered service will do it for much less.” The piece introduces Monika, “an AI-infused platform that promises users 20 solid brand names in five days for a flat fee of $5,000.” According to Monika’s founders, this is far less than the cost of an average naming project.

As a naming professional (and author of Brand Naming), my reaction was predictably mixed: one part “Ooh, this looks interesting” and one part “The robots are coming for my job!” But my curiosity outweighed my anxiety. After all, I’d seen this coming. The use of AI in naming is nothing new.

AI and naming

In 2018, over four years before OpenAI launched ChatGPT, I interviewed Anthony Shore, who BBC News calls “one of the world’s most sought after people when it comes to naming new businesses and products.” Anthony discussed using AI in his naming process, saying it could produce “some really interesting words and ideas,” but that so far, none of his clients had chosen a name generated by AI. However, he said, “It’s only a matter of time before that happens. … I’m bullish on AI and neural networks.”

ChatGPT made large language models accessible to the masses. In early 2023, shortly after its release, New York naming agency Tanj used ChatGPT to create Chatnamer. Based on answers to about half a dozen questions, Chatnamer produces a free list of five name ideas. They’re provided without context. They’re not pre-screened for legal availability. And by Tanj’s admission, they’re not great: “AI, ChatGPT, and Chatnamer show promise, but they certainly haven’t perfected the art and science of naming.”

Countless other naming bots have popped up since, but the consensus among industry experts is clear: AI can help with brainstorming, but its name ideas are pretty bad. And, more importantly, there’s a lot more to naming than just coming up with name ideas. Tanj, Anthony Shore, and other namers have made this point eloquently:

• Tanj founder Scott Milano, in a blog post introducing Chatnamer: “Much like design, writing, journalism, and other crafts that are truly human-centric, AI will not replace all that a human can do. While we can’t know for sure, we suspect it will always fall short compared to human intelligence, ingenuity, sensitivity, and subtlety. All of this is required in naming, especially if you want names with nuance, layers, and purpose.”
• Anthony Shore, on the How Brands Are Built podcast in 2018: “There are other aspects of naming, such as understanding and ascertaining what the right naming strategy should be … [and] helping a client see how each word in a list of words could become their future—could become their brand … that’s not something AI is going to do. So there’s still a place for professional name developers.”
• And in response to a LinkedIn post about Monika, Emily Penny, brand strategist and founder of Becolourful, commented, “The hardest part is not actually coming up with the names… it’s the buy-in and decision-making. Names have to be deeply rooted in the strategy and must be championed to get through the hurdles of internal politics and legal obstacles. It’s something that’s often overlooked but as a naming pro, it’s my everyday reality.”

Monika is a superior AI naming tool

As its founders are quick to point out in the Fast Company article, Monika’s approach is more rigorous than “asking ChatGPT for some names and tossing the results into a Google Doc.” Monika uses “dozens of models” that emulate “how the best in the naming business go about the process,” including some steps that seem designed to infuse randomness into the name list, like scouring Spotify playlists, obscure Wikipedia pages, and novels.

Importantly, Monika’s founders seem to have a solid understanding of the best-practice naming process used by professional namers. For each project, their AI tools generate a list of 1,000+ names. These are checked against a global trademark database. Then, humans select the final 20 names to present to the client (including their top three recommendations) and put them into a presentation (i.e., they’re not simply listed on a screen). These additions of “humans in the loop” and what Fast Company calls a “slick deck” are critical; they will help ensure better names and higher client satisfaction.

So, have the robots won? (Or, can I keep my job?)

Monika appears to be a step in the right direction, but it’s not providing the same service as naming professionals for a tenth of the price. (And, for the record, naming doesn’t have to cost $50,000. As Monika’s FAQ more accurately states, “reputable agencies most often charge between $7,000–$40,000.”) A closer look at Monika’s website reveals some corner-cutting that allows them to offer such a (relatively) low price:

• Monika only offers a single round of naming. Many more expensive naming processes include one or more additional rounds, if necessary, or offer them at significantly reduced rates. Maybe Monika does the same if asked, but I see how advertising it might undercut their implied “one and done” promise.
• Their process does not include cultural and linguistic checks, which can help avoid “disastrous” meanings and connotations in foreign languages and faraway lands. (Obligatory namer’s note: Chevy’s Nova didn’t really mean “doesn’t go” in Spanish. But Buick’s LaCrosse did mean “masturbation” in French Canadian.) This would be relatively easy to add for another $1,000–$2,000.
• Names are presented “without explanation or rationale.” The Monika site claims this is done to mirror “how your name will be presented to consumers.” Fair enough, but it also conveniently takes a few hours of work off the agency’s shoulders. I hope they’re at least facilitating a discussion about the relative merits of each name.
• Most importantly, the Monika process seems built to minimize human interaction with clients; As far as I can tell from their website, there is no briefing call (just a long, online form) and it’s not clear that anyone presents the names—just that the aforementioned “slick deck” is provided (emailed?).

Will AI take my job? Probably. But maybe not yet. Like Anthony said in 2018, “I’m bullish on AI.” With that optimism comes the reality that many people in creative industries may eventually be displaced by AI.

Monika makes it easier than ever to see how this may happen for namers. I’m impressed by the way they’ve boiled down the naming process while retaining many proven best practices. The way they’re using AI sounds reasonable, and the inclusion of humans in the process seems like the right call. I’m excited to see how they do—and what they do next.

But what makes Monika’s $5,000 price possible has more to do with process efficiency than AI. After all, getting lists of great name ideas was never really the expensive part of naming. A lot of the value—and therefore the cost—of a naming project comes from the human-to-human interaction, which is where the strategy is set, the brief is finalized, ideas are shared, and consensus is gained. Will AI be able to do all of this as well as an experienced naming professional? Probably. But maybe not yet.

Rob Meyerson is a brand consultant, author of Brand Naming, and co-author of the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity. He runs Heirloom, a brand strategy and identity firm, and hosts the podcast How Brands Are Built.