The Hidden AI Problem No One’s Talking About: It’s Destroying Customer Trust

AI is in nearly everything now. It’s easy to see some of the disruption this is causing, including the mass layoffs that continue to make the news. But there is an effect that AI is having in another area, too: consumer trust. As people see more AI in their everyday life, they may become less likely to immediately trust what they see, hear or read. Think about the last time you read a marketing message. Did you believe it at first sight? Or did you question things? More specifically, did you wonder if it was AI-generated? And if you did, when was the last time you thought that and ended up trusting what you were looking at? AI may be contributing to lower trust at first contact “Is this AI?” It’s a relevant question in 2026. It’s also a subtle yet important new part of the consumer filter. The simple act of asking whether something is AI, even if it isn’t, can reduce trust in what a person is seeing. The average person interacts with around 5,000 ads every day. That’s ten times the number of ads they had to sift through in the 1970s. Now, complicating this constant ad exposure is the fact that many of these ads are filled with AI-generated copy. They have photos, songs and videos that aren’t human — or at least aren’t fully human. This is because everything from visual clips to news stories to blog articles can easily be created and shared now at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional, human-made marketing assets. Complicating matters further, the multi-billion-dollar AI industry is working to make these AI look-alikes more sophisticated all the time. They are working to make AI-generated material more difficult for the general public to identify. This new reality raises the stakes for business owners, chief marketing officers and anyone trying to get a promotional message out there. Trust is no longer something companies can automatically count on simply by maintaining a strong product and good reviews. If you want a potential customer to notice you in the first place, you increasingly need to demonstrate value quickly. Trying to prove value in a trustless AI space AI is increasing the importance of trust. Companies need to think more carefully about how they can build trust with their target audiences. Traditionally, trust has come from some pretty basic activities. If you could maintain consistent brand messaging and be honest and transparent, over time, consumers would trust your brand. Now that AI can replicate many common marketing approaches, marketers need to be more deliberate about how they use their marketing assets to help build trust. One way to do this is by investing in resources that are less flashy and more substantial. BioStem Technologies is one example. The regenerative-medicine company openly addresses the scientific complexities behind its work. In fact, it has built entire pages on its website devoted to explaining the science behind its business philosophy. Other resource pages tackle deep, complex questions surrounding its products. Providing detailed information instead of relying primarily on broad marketing language signals to potential clients that the company has invested in its solutions. You can also demonstrate value that builds trust by showing your commitment to adhere to industry regulations. Companies already need to follow regulations. This shouldn’t be a back-room-only element of a business. Instead, companies should repurpose the effort they put into following regulations into their marketing, too. They can build consumer-friendly, customer-facing resources that are framed as a business code of conduct. These can share details about investments made to uphold ethical behavior or integrity in how a business operates day to day. Again, this can signal to clients that a business is not focused solely on revenue growth. There are real integrity boundaries in place. Creating accessible resources that demonstrate this investment without heavy legal jargon can help reassure customers and build trust alongside other marketing materials. Investing in trust in the AI era As consumers sift through a growing quantity of AI content, business leaders should recognize how valuable consumer trust has become. Marketing leaders must lean on less “thin” content and look for ways to build strong, substantial resources. These should go beyond marketing slogans and aim to demonstrate data-backed science and clearly defined company philosophies. If marketers can integrate these integrity-based elements into their strategies, they may be better positioned to build trust with customers as AI contributes to greater skepticism around content. EXPERT OPINION BY JOEL COMM, AUTHOR AND SPEAKER @JOELCOMM