Sixty percent of US consumers say ‘AI’ in brand messaging is a turnoff, survey finds

A recent report by WordPress VIP highlights a growing consumer skepticism towards artificial intelligence in brand messaging. The study found that 60% of US consumers are turned off when brands use "AI" in their communications, and a significant 86% do not fully trust AI-generated answers, preferring to seek out original sources.

This distrust extends to the point where 42% of consumers trust AI-generated answers with unclear attribution even less than airline fees or confusing privacy policies. The findings suggest a shift in the digital landscape, where brands must navigate the desire to be visible to AI search engines while still appearing human-authored to avoid alienating their audience.

WordPress VIP CTO Brian Alvey emphasized this dilemma, stating that brands now need to build websites for both AI agents and human users. While visibility to AI is crucial for discoverability, maintaining human trust is paramount. Without content that feels human and trustworthy, consumers are unlikely to return.

The report, based on a survey of 2,000 respondents, also indicates a paradoxical trend: despite consumer wariness, traffic from AI search engines to websites is increasing. Sixty percent of enterprise respondents reported higher traffic from AI search, and 74% consider AI discoverability and attribution a priority. This underscores the dual challenge brands face in balancing AI-driven visibility with the imperative of human trust and transparency, with 33% of consumers still considering original source clicks their top trust signal.