How does the audience really perceive AI content?

At a time when artificial intelligence is becoming an everyday tool in the communications industry, we set out to understand what our social media followers think about AI-generated content. Through our regular monthly #VoxPopuli poll, we explored how they perceive AI content, how much they trust it, and how it influences their relationship with brands.

AI content: recognizable, but not always clear

As many as 69% of respondents on Instagram and 74% on LinkedIn believe they can clearly distinguish AI-generated content from human-created content, while roughly a third still admits uncertainty. Interestingly, no one said they were bad at identifying it—suggesting high confidence, though not necessarily an accurate self-assessment.

AI content is most easily recognized on social media. 80% of users notice AI labels, and 73% say they can identify it outside social platforms as well—in articles, ads, and emails. However, there is no ambiguity about one thing: 100% of respondents believe AI content should always be clearly labeled. Transparency is not optional—it’s expected.

The biggest issue isn’t creativity

The strongest consensus appears in responses comparing the value of AI-generated content to human-created content: 100% of respondents agree that AI content does not hold the same value as human work.

Although part of the audience sees it as useful (40%), perceptions are fragmented. For some, AI content is entertaining; for others, it is unnecessary or even risky. Emotional responses further highlight this distance: most people feel neutral (57%), while negative reactions (29%) significantly outweigh positive ones (14%).

For 75% of Instagram respondents, trust is the biggest concern, while 25% point to technological dependency. Interestingly, creativity is not seen as an issue at all. LinkedIn results differ slightly: 52% highlight trust as the main concern, 37% technological dependency, and 11% creativity.

AI in marketing: a perception that (currently) harms brands

AI influencers and content creators are almost nonexistent in audience habits—only 8% of respondents follow them. Even more striking is how audiences perceive brands that use AI. 71% consider them non-innovative, while only 29% see them as innovative—revealing a strong paradox. A technology meant to signal progress is, for most audiences, producing the opposite effect.

Perceptions of communication quality are also largely negative. On Instagram, 62% believe AI negatively impacts quality (40% on LinkedIn), while only 25% see a positive impact (20% on LinkedIn), and 12% are unsure (20% on LinkedIn). Perhaps most importantly, 67% of Instagram respondents say AI content reduces their trust in brands, while only 11% believe it increases it.

How can we reconcile the challenges of AI content?

While the communications industry is rapidly adopting AI tools, there is a clear gap between industry practices and audience perception. Regardless of the quality of AI output, credibility remains the key challenge—and transparency the baseline expectation.

Brands should also be mindful of potential reputational risks. If audiences perceive brands using AI as less innovative and less trustworthy, then using technology in the name of innovation can become counterproductive.

The brands that will succeed in the AI era will not be those that use AI the most, but those that use it the smartest—with a clear human role, authenticity, and trust-building as top priorities.