Consumers Are Using AI More, But Trusting It Less. What Does That Mean for Marketing?

AI adoption is accelerating, but consumer confidence is moving in the opposite direction. For brands investing heavily in AI, the challenge is no longer simply how to use the technology, but how to use it without losing trust.

AI has quickly become one of the biggest conversations in digital marketing.

From generating creative concepts to improving workflows and supporting campaign development, AI has created new opportunities for brands and agencies.

Platforms like Google Ads and Meta continue to introduce AI-powered tools designed to make advertising more efficient. For marketers, the benefits are clear. AI can help teams explore ideas faster, automate repetitive tasks and create at a scale that was previously difficult to achieve.

However, there is a growing gap between industry enthusiasm and consumer confidence.

While businesses are moving quickly to adopt AI, audiences are becoming more cautious about how the technology is being used.

 

Consumers are using AI search more, but confidence is falling

The relationship between consumers and AI is becoming increasingly complex.

AI tools are now part of everyday search and research journeys. People are using them to find information, compare options and make decisions. However, trust in AI-powered experiences is declining.

Recent research shows that just 54% of consumers now believe AI search is more helpful than traditional search, down from 82% in 2025.

At the same time, AI adoption continues to grow.

For marketers, this creates an important challenge. Consumers are not rejecting AI, but they are becoming more aware of how brands use the technology and whether the content they encounter feels authentic.

Being visible through AI is one thing.

Being trusted through AI is another.

 

The risk of using AI without creativity

The growing scepticism around AI has not appeared without reason.

For many consumers, early examples of AI in creative industries have shaped their perception of the technology. Some high-profile uses of AI-generated advertising and content have raised concerns around authenticity, creativity and whether brands are prioritising speed over quality.

The issue is not that AI is being used.

The issue is how it is being used.

When AI becomes a replacement for human creativity rather than a tool to support it, the result can feel generic and disconnected.

For marketing teams, the temptation to use AI simply to increase output is understandable. The technology can help businesses produce more content, generate ideas faster and improve efficiency.

However, producing more does not always mean producing better.

The brands that benefit most from AI will not necessarily be the ones using it the most. They will be the ones using it with purpose.

 

The growing gap between AI adoption and consumer trust

This tension between opportunity and trust is becoming increasingly important for performance marketing teams.

Research shows that 39% of consumers say the use of AI would reduce their trust in a brand. This highlights a challenge for businesses investing in AI-generated content, advertising and creative tools.

Platforms such as Google Ads and Meta continue to heavily promote AI-powered solutions, creating a disconnect between the enthusiasm of the industry and the concerns of consumers.

Negative perceptions of AI in digital marketing appear to have been influenced by how the technology has been used creatively. Examples of AI-generated advertising associated with low effort or misinformation have contributed to concerns around authenticity.

Finley Constable, Senior Paid Media Executive at Honcho, explains:

“It’s fascinating to see the decline in consumer confidence towards advertising that uses AI. With just 54% of people now saying AI is more helpful than traditional search, down from 82% in 2025, alongside 39% saying the use of AI would reduce their trust in a brand, it’s clear that consumer sentiment has shifted significantly.

Platforms like Google Ads and Meta continue to heavily promote AI-powered creative tools, creating a disconnect between the industry’s enthusiasm for AI and consumers’ growing scepticism.

What’s particularly interesting is that negative perceptions of AI in digital marketing most likely appear to have been shaped by its use creatively in the industry. High-profile examples, from last year’s AI-generated Coca-Cola Christmas advert to the infamous ‘Willy Wonka Experience’ in 2024, have associated AI with low-effort content and misinformation.

For agencies and marketing teams, AI remains an incredibly exciting creative tool. It enables teams to explore ideas, produce concepts and create imagery that may previously have been beyond their time or resource constraints. However, the long-term success of AI in performance marketing depends on how responsibly it’s used.

If businesses continue to rely on AI simply to cut corners, consumer trust will continue to erode. Used thoughtfully, with human oversight and genuine creative direction, AI still has the potential to shape the future of digital marketing, but these findings suggest there’s still a significant trust gap to overcome.”

 

The future of AI in marketing depends on trust

AI is not going away, and it should not.

The technology has huge potential to help marketing teams become more creative, efficient and effective. But long-term success will depend on how responsibly businesses use it.

Consumers will not judge brands simply on whether they use AI. They will judge them on the quality of the experiences AI helps create.

The future of AI in marketing will not belong to the brands that automate everything.

It will belong to the brands that understand where technology ends and human creativity begins.