60% of U.S. Consumers Say AI in Brand Messaging Is a Turnoff as Trust Plummets, Survey Reveals

Consumer Trust in AI Hits Critical Low as Brands Push Forward

A stark divide is emerging between how brands deploy artificial intelligence and what consumers actually want. According to a new WordPress VIP survey conducted by Talker Research in April, 60% of U.S. consumers say that brands using AI in brand messaging are a turnoff rather than a selling point 1

1

. The findings paint a troubling picture for companies investing heavily in AI-powered marketing and customer experience tools, as consumer skepticism toward AI continues to deepen.

The WordPress VIP survey polled 2,000 respondents, including 800 enterprise decision-makers and CMOs alongside 1,200 U.S. adults 1

1

. Perhaps most striking is that 86% don't fully trust AI and still want to explore original sources themselves 1

1

. When AI-generated answers lack clear attribution, 42% of consumers said they distrust AI-generated results more than airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and even medical bills 3

3

.

Brands Using AI Face Identity Crisis as 61% Can't Name Success Stories

The credibility gap extends beyond general distrust. When asked to identify brands using AI well in marketing and customer experience, 61% of consumers couldn't name a single company 2

2

. An additional 16% said they don't believe any business uses AI well at all 3

3

. This suggests that despite widespread AI adoption in marketing and customer experience, brands have failed to demonstrate tangible value to their audiences.

The research also uncovered what researchers are calling bot fatigue—the exhaustion consumers feel after interacting with too much automated content. On average, it takes just 40 minutes before consumers start feeling fatigued by bot-made content they encounter 2

2

. Three in four consumers believe the internet feels less human than it did 10 years ago, largely due to AI and automation 1

1

.

AI Visibility and Human Trust Create New Balancing Act for Enterprises

Despite consumer wariness, the business case for AI discoverability remains strong. Sixty percent of enterprise respondents reported that traffic from AI search engines and answer platforms increased over the past year 1

1

. Additionally, 74% of enterprise decision-makers said AI discoverability and attribution are a main or significant priority 1

1

.

Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP, framed the challenge: "People used to build websites for other people. Now you have to build websites for AI agents acting on behalf of those people. If your site's content isn't legible to AI, you are invisible to a growing share of how people search" 1

1

. Nearly 69% of marketing executives believe their website will be completely invisible to AI search engines if content isn't openly available and structured properly 3

3

.

Human-Centered Design Emerges as Competitive Advantage

The data suggests a clear path forward: brands must balance AI visibility with human-centered design. Seventy-five percent of Americans find humans much more helpful than AI when interacting with or consulting for help on a business's website 3

3

. ServiceNow Head of Global Innovation Brian Solis captured the sentiment: "No customer or user wakes up and says, 'I hope I get to talk to a chat bot or an AI agent today'" 2

2

.

Ninety-one percent of marketing executives now believe it's important their content takes on a more human tone 3

3

. Steph Yiu, CEO of WordPress VIP, emphasized: "Brands cannot afford to treat visibility and trust as separate things anymore. If people cannot understand where information came from or connect it back to a brand they trust, being visible is not enough" 3

3

.

For consumers, the need for transparency remains paramount. Thirty-three percent said clicking through to see an original source is still their top trust signal, while 80% said information on the web should remain openly accessible rather than controlled by a small number of large organizations 1

1

. This aligns with Automattic's broader push for an open web ecosystem, reflected in its backing of the open source WordPress project 1

1

.

As brands navigate this tension between AI-generated misinformation concerns and the need for digital experiences that feel authentic, 39% of marketing executives report being kept up at night by misinformation from AI-generated responses 3

3

. The short-term challenge involves optimizing for AI discoverability while maintaining human authenticity. Long-term success will likely belong to brands that master both, creating content that serves AI agents while building direct relationships with audiences who increasingly value transparency and human connection over automated efficiency.🟡선을