New research suggests consumers are open to advertising in AI assistants, but brands risk losing trust if relevance comes at the expense of privacy and transparency.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as the next frontier for digital advertising. Reports that OpenAI’s advertising pilot generated more than $100 million in revenue within six weeks have only intensified interest from marketers eager to secure an early advantage.
But while the commercial opportunity is undeniable, consumer trust will ultimately determine whether AI advertising succeeds.
Our survey of 1,000 large language model (LLM) users in the United States found that consumers are open to advertising inside AI assistants—but only if those experiences remain transparent, relevant, and respectful of personal boundaries.
Consumers Are Highly Engaged With AIÂ
AI assistants are already deeply embedded in everyday life.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents currently use only the free versions of AI assistants, while 31% have access to premium services. Of those paying for premium access, only 22% fund subscriptions themselves, with the remainder receiving access through employers or educational institutions.
Engagement is equally strong. More than half (56%) use AI assistants every day or several times a day. ChatGPT remains the most widely used platform, with 61% of respondents reporting they had used it during the past six months, ahead of Gemini (41%), Copilot (25%), Claude (13%), and Grok (11%).
For marketers, that represents a rapidly growing audience with unusually high levels of attention and intent.
Early Opportunity Comes With High ExpectationsÂ
History suggests that early adopters often benefit from new advertising channels.
Brands such as Duolingo and Ryanair established strong positions on TikTok before the platform became saturated, benefiting from lower competition and higher organic reach.
AI assistants may offer a similar opportunity, but under very different conditions.
Our research found that 82% of respondents consider advertising inside AI assistants to be at least as trustworthy as Google Search ads. At the same time, only one-third said AI advertising would be more intrusive than ads on social media platforms.
That combination of trust and engagement creates an attractive environment for marketers—but only if it is handled carefully.
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Trust Is the Real Competitive Advantage
Consumers are less concerned about seeing advertisements than they are about whether advertising will compromise the quality and objectivity of AI-generated responses.
One-third of respondents said they worry AI answers could become biased in favor of advertisers. Another 32% cited privacy and data concerns, while others questioned whether sponsored content would always be clearly distinguishable from unbiased recommendations.
Respondents also identified situations where advertising should remain off limits. Confidential work discussions (17%), mental health conversations (16%), medical topics (14%), and legal or financial discussions (12%) emerged as the contexts where advertising would feel most inappropriate.
For brands, these findings reinforce that AI advertising cannot simply replicate existing approaches to search or social media.
Context Matters More Than Personalization
The temptation for advertisers is obvious. AI assistants understand users far more deeply than traditional digital platforms, creating unprecedented opportunities for personalized marketing.
Consumers, however, appear cautious about that trade-off.
More than half of respondents said they would reconsider using memory and personalization features if advertising became more prominent. While 27% said they would disable personalization altogether, another 25% said they would keep memory features enabled but opt out of advertising based on those interactions.
Rather than building increasingly detailed behavioral profiles, marketers may achieve better long-term results by focusing on the context of individual prompts.
The most effective AI advertising may not depend on understanding who users are, but on understanding what they are trying to accomplish in that specific moment.
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A New Advertising Model
OpenAI has said that any future advertising will remain clearly separated from AI-generated responses and excluded from sensitive conversations.
Those commitments will be critical.
Consumers appear willing to embrace advertising in AI assistants—but only as long as they believe those platforms remain trustworthy.
For marketers, the opportunity is significant. The responsibility to preserve that trust may prove even greater.
