• by Rebecca Rosen , March 27, 2024

Every few days we hear about an impressive new AI tool in the headlines or our inboxes. Recent advances in AI, coupled with user-friendly interfaces, have led to widespread adoption: McKinsey found that 79% of organizational employees have tried generative AI tools, resulting in a proliferation of AI-generated content.

While Yahoo found that 77% of advertisers view AI positively, only 38% of consumers feel the same; Edelman found that trust in AI companies has also dropped from 50% to 35% over the past five years in the U.S.  How can we discern true benefits from the buzz of novelty to figure out how AI should be implemented in our day-to-day lives?

Backlash

Some of the excitement about the potential AI tools yield has been overshadowed by backlash, fears, and uncertainty. While people have generally been impressed with the output of video tools like Sora, odd movements or glitches in some videos still trigger our sense that something is off.

While some of these can be written off as the growing pains of nascent technology, we are also seeing images that stoke outrage. Political issues have been implicated, with fake images of Donald Trump being arrested and fake voice recordings of Joe Biden creating more tension during an already contentious election year. Of course, abhorrent and shocking images are more likely to be remembered and shared. “The disinformation is designed to make you engage with it,” as Imran Ahmed, CEO of The Center for Countering Digital Hate, said.

Brands have always been vulnerable to rumors, but AI has the potential to fuel disinformation with unprecedented speed and realism. Brands should take note as Gen Z votes with their dollars: 57% are more likely to buy a brand that supports a cause they care about, and 46% would pay more for a brand that fits the image they want to convey (pulled from 2023 fall MRI-Simmons USA).

Weathering a Crisis

Brands with a solid foundation are best positioned to weather an AI crisis. Information that reinforces what people already think will be readily believed, so ensuring people have a strong sense of a brand and its practices is critical. As is generally the case with brand loyalty, trusted brands will retain more customers even in the face of negative disinformation.

It’s not just the content directly related to a brand. Integral Ad Science found that 72% of Americans believe brands are responsible for the content surrounding their ads, and 75% feel less favorable toward brands that advertise on sites that spread misinformation.

Using AI to Your Advantage

Of course, brands can still see some benefits from AI. When audiences see the direct benefits of AI and brands are transparent about its use, the Ada Lovelace Institute has found it will be more readily accepted. For example, almost half of consumers believe AI can help find products and services online. Disclosing when AI is used can also build trust with your audience: according to Yahoo, brands with a noticeable disclosure of AI used in advertising saw a 96% lift in overall trust.

While many have concerns about AI’s impact on privacy, more feel that AI will do more good than harm when it comes to health management by helping doctors provide quality care and helping people take care of their own health, according to research by Pew. Interestingly, it is these very human endeavors where AI is perceived as beneficial, possibly because people optimistically expect it to be used in conjunction with human cognition rather than to replace doctors outright.

To best leverage AI, brands should use AI transparently and in ways that enhance, rather than replace, communication and human decision-making.