AI companies are turning to serif fonts to look more human

In short: More AI companies are using serif fonts, the kind with small “feet” on letters, to seem warmer and more trustworthy.

What's going on

Designers are noticing a shift in how AI companies present themselves online. Instead of clean, simple fonts like Arial or Helvetica (called sans serif, meaning without the little “feet”), more brands are choosing serif fonts like Times New Roman.

Keya Vadgama, a writer and designer, calls this the “serif renaissance.” In a newsletter and in comments to Wired, she said the change looks like an effort to add “personality and warmth” to products that can feel cold or mechanical. She also pointed out that Anthropic’s chatbot Claude has used serif styling, and that other AI companies such as Runway, Perplexity, and Manus have adopted similar typefaces in their product design and branding.

People who study design say fonts send signals, even when users do not think about it directly. Ali S. Qadeer, chair of graphic design at the Ontario College of Art and Design, noted that Claude’s interface also uses a slightly brown background that can feel like a book page. The idea is similar to wearing a suit to seem more formal, even if you have not changed what you know.

Not everyone likes the trend. Some critics online call the look “tasteslop,” meaning a copy and paste style that tries to look classy but ends up feeling generic.

What to watch

As more AI tools copy each other’s design, the “trustworthy serif” look may stop feeling special. Users may also get better at spotting design patterns that suggest heavy AI involvement, which could push companies to try different visual styles next.

Source: Wired