NEW research sheds insight on customer perception on the use of AI in marketing activity

While most might consider the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in digital marketing a new concept, in reality the two have been harmoniously working together for decades. The most obvious area of digital marketing where AI technology has helped to optimise and streamline processes is paid media; the day-to-day tasks that were all done manually 10 to 15 years ago are now fully automated – all with the help of AI technology.

But with the introduction of generative AI technology, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, the potential to use AI for a range of digital marketing applications has become more accessible.

The question remains however, that with this increased use of generative AI, are marketers leveraging AI responsibly? Or is overuse and over reliance on this technology putting you at risk of damaging the audience perception of your brand?

Click Consult recently conducted some research to examine audience perceptions of AI-powered marketing practices and their potential impact on brand engagement.

Consumer perception of AI in digital marketing

AI and personalisation

AI has been fundamental in developing methods to provide increasingly personalised marketing collateral to audiences; for example AI can adjust what products audiences are shown on advertisements based on past purchases, or previous browsing history.

From our research we have found that brands need to be cautious of how and where they are using these methods; we found that consumers are more likely to feel comfortable with brands using AI to personalise their shopping experience – if they are also familiar with the uses of AI in marketing (56%), compared to those who are unfamiliar with the use of AI technology (7%). Brands need to consider that most of their customer base are not in a position to be familiar with these practices; 91% of our research participants were either not familiar (46%) or only somewhat familiar (45%) with the use of AI in digital marketing; given the effort taken to ensure that the representativeness of our respondents reflected a typical sample of the general public, it is likely that your target audience will reflect these numbers.

Figure A. Chart representing how comfortable people are with brands using AI to personalise their shopping experience, split by how familiar respondents were with the use of AI in marketing.

25 to 34 year olds are most comfortable with brands using AI for personalisation, with 42% stating that this personalisation enhances their shopping experience. Overall, it also appears that men (26%) are more likely to be comfortable with brands using AI to enhance their shopping experience than women (15%).

Trust in AI-generated content

As previously mentioned the amount of brands making use of tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini has increased significantly over the last 12 – 18 months; there are several reasons why AI generated content should not be blindly posted online without being proofed and edited by an expert, including:

• AI generated content is not always accurate, so might not be factual or trustworthy
• Search engines are looking for helpful content that adds value, since AI generated content can only generate repurposed or rehashed content and cannot produce anything new – it is unlikely to provide additional value, and therefore unlikely to rank on search engines
• While AI can generate text, it often struggles with creative thinking, nuanced understanding, and unique perspectives. This can lead to content that is generic, predictable, and lacks the spark that engages readers.

Most people trust human generated content more than AI generated content (57%), regardless of familiarity with AI; whilst for some it might not be obvious that AI has been used to generate content, it is becoming easier to differentiate between AI and human generated content. Research run by Click Consult last year found that 63% of people could correctly distinguish between AI and human written content – and this number is likely to have increased over the past 12 months.

Trust levels for AI generated content also fluctuate depending on familiarity with the use of AI in marketing; 40% of people who are familiar with the use of AI in marketing suggested they trust AI and human generated content equally – compared to just 7% of those who are unfamiliar with the use.

Figure B. Chart representing how much people trust human-generated content, compared with AI-generated content, split by their familiarity with the use of AI in marketing.

Our research indicated that once again, 25-34 year olds were the most trusting of AI-generated content, with 32% stating they would trust it as equally as human-generated content; this category had double the number of respondents compared to the categories with the second-highest levels of trust in AI-generated content. Only approximately 16% of respondents aged 35-44 (16.39%) and 45-54 (16.45%) expressed equal trust in AI-generated content. That being said, most 25-34 (52%) year olds still stated they would trust human-generated content more.

Figure C. Chart representing how much people trust human-generated content, compared with AI-generated content, split by their age categories.

There are also discrepancies with gender; almost double the amount of men (20%), compared to women (11%) stated they trust AI and human generated content equally – though as a whole, both men (53%) and women (59%) agree that they trust human generated content more.

AI and purchase decisions

What effect does this unease with AI generated content, and AI enhanced personalisation have on purchase behaviour? Well the good news is that in our research we found that 61% of people state that their decision to purchase from a brand would not be impacted by the use of AI-generated content in their marketing activity.

What if you are not using AI at all? Well, only 5% state that knowing a brand uses AI in their marketing activity would make them more likely to purchase from that brand.

This still leaves an area where marketers need to proceed with caution – because 34% of people who would still be less likely to purchase from a brand, if they knew they used AI generated content in their marketing activity.

This highlights the importance of finding a balance between AI generated content, and human input to ensure the effectiveness and authenticity of marketing efforts. To mitigate these risks, marketers should prioritise human review, proofing, and editing of any AI-generated content to ensure that the content aligns with the brand’s voice and values, is free of errors, and resonates with the target audience.

Figure D. Pie chart representing how brands using AI-generated content might impact audience purchase decisions.

AI and customer experience

AI driven customer service

In general, people tend to be more amenable when it comes to AI technology being used for customer service – with 55% stating that they are likely to interact with AI chatbots in 2025.

This number does drop with age, however, with there being a near 50/50 split of 54-65 years olds stating they were just as likely (50.2%), as unlikely (49.8%) to use an AI chatbot in 2025. This drops even further for those in the 65+ category, with only 35% stating they would likely interact with this technology.

Figure E. Chart representing likeliness to interact with chatbots in 2025, split by age category.

Again, familiarity with the use of AI in marketing activity also had an impact on whether or not people were likely to use AI chatbots in the following year, with only 20% of respondents familiar with AI technology suggesting they’d be unlikely to use chatbots, compared to almost 60% (59.44%) of those less familiar with AI tech.

AI powered product recommendations

In a similar fashion to the personalised ads, AI technology can provide product recommendations based on browsing behaviour, or history. Our research found that those familiar with AI would be more likely to prefer AI to help them find products and services based on their browsing behaviour (50%) than those that are somewhat familiar (27%), or those who are not familiar (10%) with the use of AI in marketing activity.

The ethical implications of AI in marketing

Privacy concerns

There are huge concerns amongst the public surrounding AI being used in marketing, with 81% of people stating they had concerns. This sentiment was relatively unanimous regardless of age, gender, or familiarity with the use of AI in marketing.

Figure F. Pie chart representing privacy concerns in relation to use of AI in marketing. The red segments represent respondents who are either somewhat, or very concerned with their privacy.

The future of creativity

We found that a decent number of people believe that AI will have a positive impact on creativity within marketing in the following year, with 40% suggesting that AI will make marketing more creative in 2025.

There were differences in opinions for familiarity of the use of AI in marketing, as well as between different generational categories:

• Those who are familiar with the use of AI in marketing (70%) are more likely than those unfamiliar with the tech (28%) to think AI will make marketing more creative in 2025.
• As people get older, they are less likely to attribute AI with increasing levels of creativity, with 57% of Gen Z, 46% of millennials, and only 31% of older generations (55+) stating that AI will make marketing more creative in 2025.

Figure G. Chart representing the generational differences in opinion on how AI will impact creativity in 2025.

Summary & final remarks

While AI has undeniably revolutionised digital marketing, its responsible and ethical implementation is crucial to maintain positive brand perception.

Our research reveals that while consumers are becoming increasingly aware of AI’s role in marketing, their trust in AI-supported content and advertising is still developing. As AI continues to advance, marketers must find a delicate balance between leveraging its potential and prioritising human creativity, authenticity, and transparency.

It is important to note that while AI-generated content can be a valuable tool, it should not replace human creativity and expertise. Brands should combine the strengths of AI with human input to create more effective, engaging, and authentic marketing campaigns that drive results and enhance customer experiences whilst still safeguarding brand reputation.