Recent Gartner research reveals that 49% of U.S. consumers believe generative AI has made marketing content quality worse, while half prefer to buy from brands that avoid using AI in marketing altogether. The findings expose a widening gap between marketers who are scaling content with AI and customers who increasingly question the authenticity and trustworthiness of what they see.
Skepticism runs especially deep among younger audiences. Fifty-seven percent of Gen Z and Millennials told Gartner they think AI has degraded content quality. Across all age groups, 61% often wonder if the information they rely on is reliable, and 68% regularly question whether online content is even real. One Reddit user captured the mood bluntly: "I think that AI marketing will undoubtably flood the scene, but more importantly, consumers will vote with their pocket and go for more human strategies."
"Consumers have a zero-tolerance policy for generic AI noise," said Carrie Parker, Chief Marketing Officer at Medallia. "As AI use expands, the human voice and touch become premium differentiators, not an afterthought."
Why brand metrics can mislead
Traditional performance metrics such as impressions and click-through rates measure attention, not affinity. Gartner found that 53% of consumers distrust AI-generated search results, and 41% say AI summaries make searching more frustrating. Yet many marketing dashboards won't capture the customers who quietly disengage without unsubscribing or unfollowing.
Channing Ferrer, Chief Revenue Officer and Americas CEO at Brevo, described the danger. "Strong impressions and click-through can paper over a rotting foundation, and that should worry CX leaders most," he said. "The number nobody watches is silent disengagement: the customers who haven't unsubscribed, but they've just simply stopped caring. Those people inflate your dashboard."
These metrics can create a false sense of success while trust erodes beneath the surface. Engagement tells a marketer a message got attention, not whether that attention is curdling into fatigue.
Balancing AI with human authenticity
Rather than reject AI, some marketing teams are redirecting it toward tasks where speed matters most, while preserving human oversight for brand voice and creative strategy. Only one-third of consumers consider AI chatbots as effective as traditional search for learning new information, according to Gartner. That hesitation keeps trust a critical barrier.
Christina Kyriazi, Chief Marketing Officer at PhotoShelter, said, "Human-created content is the source of authenticity. Marketing teams can use AI to scale production and streamline workflows, but the stories, experiences, and perspectives that create emotional connections with audiences will always be inherently human."
For senior marketing leaders navigating these tension points, resources like the AI Learning Path for CMOs offer frameworks for separating tasks suited for automation from those that require human judgment. The goal is not less technology, but clearer boundaries.
Measuring relationships beyond clicks
As skepticism grows, marketers are rethinking what success looks like. Gartner's research indicates that by the end of 2025, only 27% of consumers relied primarily on intuition to decide whether information was true. When customers evaluate brands more critically, short-term campaign metrics lose their predictive power.
Sabrina Leblanc, Senior Vice President of Sales & Customer Success at SurveyMonkey, said, "Clicks and engagement tell you whether something captured attention, but they don't predict business growth. They also don't tell you whether customers trust you more after the interaction." She added, "The more important question is whether an interaction strengthened the relationship. Clicks fade. Relationships compound."
This shift is pushing organizations to prioritize the quality of customer relationships over the volume of interactions. Silent disengagement becomes more dangerous than a unsubscribe because it never triggers a dashboard alert.
Human perspective as a differentiator
As generative AI makes generic content abundant, original storytelling and consistent brand values grow more valuable. Gartner found that 50% of U.S. consumers would prefer to buy from brands that avoid using AI in customer-facing content. Content authentication and transparency are becoming signals of credibility.
Jonathan Moran, Head of MarTech Solutions Marketing at SAS, said, "As AI commoditizes generic content, human authenticity will become more valuable, not less. Organizations scaling AI should establish clear zones: AI handles volume and personalisation; humans own brand voice, strategy, and trust-building." He added, "Authenticity comes from consistent values and perspective, which is something AI can amplify but not originate and keep fully consistent over time."
Marketers who reinvest AI efficiency gains into creative thinking and brand differentiation will be better positioned for long-term trust. Courses that explore these tensions, such as AI for Marketing Courses, can help practitioners design workflows where automation supports rather than dilutes human connection.
Why this matters for marketing professionals
The metrics that traditionally define campaign success-impressions, clicks, open rates-do not measure customer trust. Marketing professionals need to track softer signals of disengagement, from reduced attention to declining brand sentiment, and restructure measurement systems accordingly. The most resilient strategy is to let AI handle volume and personalization while reserving brand voice, story, and relationship-building for human decision-makers.
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