Resource-constrained marketers are using AI to help increase productivity by helping with everything from ideation and faster workflows to data analytics. But there’s one caveat when using AI in marketing: Don’t let consumers know, because they hate it.
Nearly nine in 10 marketers say they have to deliver more in less time, according to a report by GrowthLoop. Also, 91% have ramped up content output this year — with many producing three to five times more than in 2024, according to a 10Fold survey. Yet budgets often remain flat.
Dig deeper: Closing the gap between creative and marketing performance
To close that gap, marketers are leaning hard on AI, with 67% globally — and 78% in California — now using AI tools for content creation regularly, the 10Fold survey found. Teams that once spent 10 hours a week on manual campaign optimization now see cycles under 30 days, according to research from DoubleVerify.
Marketers are using AI to adjust in real time and respond faster to shifting customer behavior. One of those behaviors is not liking AI, and it doesn’t appear to be shifting.
Sophie Cheng, SVP of produce marketing at Sinch, discusses consumers’ trust of AI with MarTech.
The AI trust gap
While 70% of consumers recognize AI in marketing emails, ads and customer service, only 25% like it, according to GrowthLoop. An overwhelming 82% still want to talk to a human agent — even if the AI option is faster. And concerns are mounting: 78% worry about data security, 60% doubt the accuracy of AI outputs, and 84% say brands should disclose when AI is in use.
Cocoa-Cola’s holiday ad that used genAI.
How much do consumers dislike AI?
Last year, Coca-Cola used AI to make a Christmas ad. The company called the campaign “a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative AI.” Consumers called it mediocre — more of a shortcut than creativity — and felt it was just Coca-Cola’s way of dodging paying real artists.
Alex Hirsch, creator of “Gravity Falls,” said Coca-Cola’s iconic red came from “the blood of out-of-work artists.”
Coca-Cola has not repeated its AI experiment.
Inside the ‘AI paradox’
Marketers, like consumers, have their doubts about AI.
While 71% believe AI makes them better at their jobs, 61% worry it could replace them, according to a HubSpot report. Junior staff (22%) are more than twice as likely to fear replacement as senior managers, according to DotDigital’s Secret Lives of Marketing Teams report. Copywriters, in particular, feel vulnerable. Dotdigital found that 34% are afraid AI will replace them.
Dig deeper: AI can scale ads, but great creatives drive brand impact
Yet survey data shows most fears are misplaced: 83% of AI adopters haven’t cut staff (10Fold). Instead, 71% of the teams are upskilling to use AI responsibly (HubSpot).
The prevailing sentiment is that AI serves as a powerful “booster pack” that amplifies existing tools and strategies. According to GrowthLoop, 86% of marketers believe human intervention improves AI effectiveness.
That can mean getting outside help: 10Fold’s research found 88% of marketers continue to rely on external agency support for at least part of their content process, with 86% preferring a hybrid model of in-house and agency resources.
What matters most in a trust-first economy isn’t being the fastest adopter. It’s being the one who pairs AI scale with human credibility that can ease consumers’ doubts.
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