AI in ads divides consumers—what brands can learn from new data revealing the tension

Consumers are split on whether brands should use generative AI to create ads, according to a new Ad Age-Harris Poll that comes as more marketers are implementing the technology into their creative processes. A little less than half of respondents (45%) said brands should use the technology to create ads, with 36% opposing and the rest saying they were not sure, according to the survey, which gathered responses from 1,090 U.S. adults aged 18 and up over three days late last month. Brands should use generative AI to create advertisements. Gen Z and baby boomers—who usually don’t agree on much—are aligned in their feelings toward AI in ads, with 45% of Gen Zers and 44% of boomers opposing it. That compared to 28% of millennials and 30% of Gen Xers who opposed AI in ads. Overall, the use of AI in ads has not yet influenced consumers enough to impact their purchasing decisions. Only one in 10 U.S. adults said they would not purchase from a brand if it used generative AI in marketing. Around the same number of respondents said they have purchased from a brand due to its use of generative AI in marketing. Also read: How advertisers can avoid AI legal pitfalls Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Despite the polarization, marketers and their agency partners are still implementing the technology in ads. Nearly half of U.S. adults surveyed reported seeing an ad they believed to be created with generative AI, with 47% of that cohort reporting seeing such ads at least once a week. Several ads that have used AI have gone viral for the wrong reasons, including a recent Toys R Us ad that promoted itself as the “first-ever brand film using OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool, Sora.” Thirty-six percent reported having seen ads promoting generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, with the strongest recognition among Gen Z (66%), compared to 44% of Gen X and 27% of baby boomers. Google pulled a Gemini ad that aired during the Olympics after backlash. The ad, featuring a father using Gemini to help his daughter write a letter to her idol, Olympic track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, was criticized for being tone-deaf by having AI take over a formative childhood experience. Of those who have seen an ad they believed to contain generative AI, 58% reported having used a generative AI tool themselves such as ChatGPT (84%), Gemini (62%) or Meta AI (51%). Gen Z had the highest exposure to these tools (60%), compared to 38% of Gen X and 18% of boomers. Also read: 9 AI tools agencies are embracing right now Exposure to AI in ads has encouraged some people to incorporate the technology into their day-to-day lives, the data shows, even if sentiment about its larger role in society is split. A little over half of all respondents said they are interested in incorporating AI into their daily lives, and 71% of those who have been exposed to advertising for a generative AI tool said they are more open to using it themselves. People are also divided on whether to use AI in certain situations, though their interest jumps if they have been exposed to AI ads. More than half of all respondents (58%) reported interest in using AI to communicate (such as writing texts and emails), with more AI exposure leading to more interest. Eighty-one percent of those who have seen an ad for generative AI are interested in using the technology for education, such as learning new facts and summarizing complex subjects, compared to 51% of those who haven’t seen an ad. Consumers still don’t trust generative AI There continues to be a mistrust of AI, even as exposure has helped fuel adoption and curiosity. A majority of those surveyed said they agree the government should regulate generative AI (some states have enacted their own policies but there are no nationwide AI policies). That sentiment is consistent even among those who have used an AI tool (74%) and those who haven’t (74%), as well as those who have seen an AI ad (77%) and those who haven’t (72%). The U.S. government should impose regulations on the use of AI. Those surveyed worry about AI negatively impacting the economy, such as job security and the stock market (70%), and about AI infringing on privacy (75%). Other concerns include AI tools infringing on the copyrights of original work from artists (66%) and the spread of misinformation (54%). I worry about generative AI technology negatively impacting the economy (e.g., threatening job security, health of the stock market). Generative AI tools infringe on the copyrights of original works from artists. I would consider it a violation of privacy if a generative AI model was trained on publicly available data about me (e.g., information on social media, public records).

AI in ads divides consumers—what brands can learn from new data revealing the tension

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