source: techcrunch ai: sixty percent of us consumers say ‘ai’ in brand messaging is a turnoff, survey finds
level: business
a new report from wordpress vip shows that 60% of us consumers say brands using ai in their messaging are a turnoff. the survey of 2,000 respondents also found that 86% do not fully trust ai and still want to explore original sources. forty-two percent said ai-generated answers without clear attribution are trusted less than airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and medical bills. nearly three in four felt the internet feels less human than a decade ago.
despite this wariness, ai referrals to sites are growing. sixty percent of enterprise respondents saw increased traffic from ai search engines and answer platforms over the past year. seventy-four percent of enterprise decision-makers said ai discoverability and attribution are a main or significant priority. the findings suggest brands must balance ai visibility with human trust, as 33% of consumers said clicking through to an original source is their top trust signal.
the report highlights a shift where websites must be built for both people and ai agents. brian alvey, cto of wordpress vip, noted that if content is not legible to ai, brands become invisible to a growing share of searches. yet, content must also feel human and trustworthy to retain visitors. the survey also found that 80% of consumers believe web information should remain openly accessible, aligning with automattic's push for an open web ecosystem.
why it matters: for ai and data science, this shows that while ai-driven search is rising, user trust hinges on transparency and attribution, impacting how models and content strategies are designed.
source: techcrunch ai: sixty percent of us consumers say ‘ai’ in brand messaging is a turnoff, survey finds