By Jonathan Baker Consumers are tuning out branded content faster than ever. But the brands that are earning trust—through transparency, consistency, and genuine value—are seeing outsized returns in engagement, conversion, and loyalty. Trust: The First and Foremost Metric In the fast-moving technological times of today, the concept of trust may get overlooked. This cannot happen, especially where brand promotion is concerned. Recent studies reveal the price of neglecting the trust of consumers—which leads to them losing their confidence in the brands they’ve followed or purchased from. Rising Suspicion and Distrust Findings from EMARKETER state that consumers are increasingly suspicious of online content presented to them. This is due in large part to the extensive application of artificial intelligence (AI) to this content. When browsing social media, for example, consumers have become wary of being able to identify AI-created content, which has contributed to their distrust. (This is detailed in EGC’s blog, Never Neglect the Human Touch in the Age of AI, which includes an example of a small online store that resorted to using an AI-created influencer.) The proof is in percentages… A New Meaning to the Term ‘Consumer Awareness’ Just as consumers seek the best deals, many now conduct research about the content they receive. The EMARKETER article reports that 72 percent of online users try to find out if images or videos are real. Approximately 60 percent of users look for revealing clues inside this content, which may include distortion and poor lighting, among other examples of AI slop. And 30 percent zero in to find disclosures or labels stating that content was either generated or altered by AI. Yes, consumers have become more aware. And brands must prepare. Consumer Skepticism in Trusting Brands By nature, consumers are skeptical of AI. As this technology has advanced, this skepticism has grown and has even extended to genuine branded content: Heightened wariness of consumers may result in shorter opportunities to prove credibility. What can brands do to decrease skepticism and increase trust among consumers? Here are two practices: 1. A/B Testing Before campaigns are launched, brands should consider A/B testing all generative AI (genAI) images and videos to be included. Upon user feedback, imagery judged to be of lower quality (read: sign that leads to distrust), may be removed and replaced. 2. Emphasize Disclosures and Labels One of the percentages listed above notes that 30 percent of users look for notifications about AI-generated content. (That percentage may increase.) Brands using AI who follow this practice are already ahead. Those unsure about how to apply them can look to these pointers from YouTube. Conclusion There has been a lot of coverage about concerns surrounding AI. The ability for consumers to trust brands is one such concern, as the percentages above prove. If you use AI-created content in your brand collateral and are unsure if best practices are being applied, contact EGC Group for help. We will ensure that your brand maintains trust among your existing customers (as well as potential ones).
