Key facts
- 60% of U.S. consumers find brands mentioning "AI" in their messaging to be a turnoff.
- 86% of consumers do not fully trust AI and prefer to explore original sources.
- 42% of consumers trust AI-generated answers without clear attribution less than airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and medical bills.
- Nearly three in four respondents believe the internet feels less human than it did 10 years ago.
- 60% of enterprise respondents reported increased traffic from AI search engines in the past year.
- 74% of enterprise decision-makers consider AI discoverability and attribution a main or significant priority.
A new report from WordPress VIP reveals a significant consumer skepticism towards artificial intelligence in brand messaging. The survey found that 60% of U.S. consumers are put off by brands that use "AI" in their communications, indicating a potential disconnect between brands' adoption of AI and audience reception.
Further underscoring this wariness, 86% of consumers reported not fully trusting AI and expressed a preference for exploring original sources. A notable 42% of respondents indicated that AI-generated answers lacking clear attribution are trusted less than common frustrations like airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and medical bills. This sentiment contributes to a broader feeling, with nearly three in four respondents stating the internet feels "less human" than it did a decade ago.
Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP, commented that brands must now build websites for AI agents acting on behalf of people, emphasizing the need for content to be legible to AI for visibility. However, he also stressed that if content doesn't feel human and trustworthy, audiences will not return.
The report, based on a survey of 2,000 respondents including enterprise decision-makers and U.S. adults, also highlighted growing AI referrals to websites. Sixty percent of enterprise respondents noted an increase in traffic from AI search engines over the past year, and 74% of these decision-makers identified AI discoverability and attribution as a key priority.
WordPress VIP suggests that brands must navigate both AI visibility and human trust. The findings indicate that 33% of consumers still consider clicking through to an original source their top trust signal, and 80% believe web information should remain openly accessible, aligning with Automattic's commitment to an open web ecosystem.