house style ยท for marketing, editorial and comms teams
AI or SI in your copy: rules for marketers and editors
Eight practical rules for headlines, product pages, press releases and tenders, so your team stays consistent.
1. Default to AI
It's the term your audience uses and searches for. Switching to SI costs you clarity and search traffic for no gain, unless your audience is the US government.
2. Don't rename your product just because
A few companies, notably Elon Musk's, have switched, such as Tesla's AI account on X becoming @TeslaSI. Most haven't. Renaming a product is expensive and confusing, and the order doesn't apply to private companies.
3. In headlines, pick one
"AI/SI" in a headline reads as indecision. Use AI, or if the story is about the rename, say so: US government renames AI "super intelligence".
4. Explain SI on first use
If SI appears in your copy, give readers the key on first mention: Super Intelligence (SI), the US government's term for AI. Then stay consistent.
5. Never use "super intelligence" as a boast
Calling an ordinary product "super intelligent" can read as an exaggerated claim. In the UK, advertising must not mislead, and the CAP Code requires claims to be backed by evidence. A claim that a product is smarter than people would need proof.
6. Keep SEO in mind
Far more people search for "AI" than "SI". Keep AI in page titles and descriptions. If you cover the rename, a phrase like "AI, now called SI by the US government" catches both.
7. Tenders and US government work
Follow the agency's own guidance. The US Department of Energy, for example, has published SI usage guidelines for its communications team. A safe pattern for bids is "Super Intelligence (SI)" on first use, with "artificial intelligence" in brackets where the tender's own legal terms still use it.
8. Quote people accurately
If someone says SI, quote SI. Don't silently "correct" a quote, and don't change AI to SI in someone else's words either.