A new Net Conversion survey finds 54% of consumers trust brands less when ads look AI-made, even as most use AI to research purchases.
Net Conversion, the Orlando-based impact media agency, on Tuesday released the second wave of its MORE Intelligence Consumer Pulse series, revealing a sharp split in how people accept artificial intelligence: enthusiastically as a shopping assistant, and skeptically when it creates advertising aimed at them.
More than half of consumers, 54%, say they trust a brand less when they can tell its ads or marketing were produced by AI, according to the survey. The penalty lands hardest among adults ages 18 to 29, 38% of whom “strongly agree,” while 63% of adults under 40 say AI-generated content and advertising has already changed how they interact with brand messaging.
And yet, these same consumers are leaning on AI to help decide what to buy: 54% say they now use AI tools at least sometimes to research purchases, a figure that rises to 60% among adults under 40. Forty-five percent of AI users say an AI recommendation increases their trust in a brand.
“Consumers see AI as a tool that works for them. They’ll happily take a shortlist from a chatbot, then check it against the brand’s own site, YouTube and Reddit,” said Ryan Fitzgerald, Net Conversion’s CEO and co-founder. “But they resent AI when it’s pointed at them. What feels like efficiency inside an agency reads as indifference to the customer.”
AI Expands the Consideration Set, Then Sends Shoppers Off to Verify
Net Conversion also found AI continuing to widen the path to purchase. Brands not previously in contention are now included in this wider funnel, which then routes shoppers through traditional channels to confirm what AI has told them, according to the survey:
- 74% of consumers who research with AI say its recommendations expand the number of brands they consider.
- Consumers rate AI “extremely helpful” for comparing brands (52%), answering specific product questions (48%) and summarizing customer reviews (47%).
- Nearly all AI users cross-check a recommendation before buying, turning to brand websites (59%), search engines (57%), retailer product pages (55%), YouTube (53%) and Reddit (53%).
- Just 2% say they are comfortable turning a purchase over to AI entirely, such as letting a tool fill a cart or book travel.
Attention Is Getting Harder to Buy, and Repetition Is a Leading Cause
Consumer tolerance for digital advertising is dropping even as time spent on digital channels grows, the survey found. Asked how their daily media habits have changed since July 2025, more consumers reported spending additional time with AI assistants than with any other channel, at 44%, followed by YouTube at 39% and streaming video at 35%.
- 52% of consumers say they are actively tuning out, skipping or blocking digital ads more often than they were a year ago.
- 48% frequently encounter the same ad across multiple platforms, and 34% frequently see ads unrelated to their location, age or interests.
- Standard pre-roll and mid-roll placements hold attention best in streaming, preferred by 30% each, while interactive overlays (9%) and clickable video ads (11%) rank last.
- 88% regularly use a second device while watching TV, and a quarter search for a brand on their phone immediately after seeing its ad, rising to 31% among adults under 40.
Also Read: Why AI-Informed Marketing Needs a New Set of Rules
Economic Outlook Defines the Highest-Value Consumer
Net Conversion found brand-loyalty erosion has slowed, with only 16% of consumers reporting they are less loyal than a year ago, down from 34% in January and 40% in July 2025. (Sixty-four percent report no change.)
Sixty-two percent of consumers say the economy is worse than a year ago. But the remaining optimists behave differently from everyone else, the survey found: They are three times more likely to describe themselves as highly loyal brand advocates than pessimists are, 31% versus 10%.
Also notable, according to the survey:
- 76% of optimists use AI tools for product research, compared with 48% of pessimists.
- 71% of optimists say an AI recommendation increases their trust in a brand, compared with 38% of pessimists.
Fitzgerald said the research shows that the key to reaching consumers is intent, not demographics. “It’s the person arriving from an AI summary, or the one reaching for a phone during a streaming break,” he said. “Those are the moments that convert, and that’s where strategic media plans need to point.”
