With AI dominating headlines—from Meta’s announcement to automate the entire digital advertising process using AI, to the rapid transformation of online search behavior due to AI-generated summaries—marketers are facing new hurdles in the quest to earn and keep consumer trust. While some brands stay quiet about their AI use, others are choosing to lead with transparency, openly sharing how they’re using AI responsibly.
That decision matters more than ever. According to research from PwC and Salesforce, consumers increasingly expect companies to explain how they’re using AI and handling personal data—and they’ll switch brands if they don’t feel confident. In a world where trust drives loyalty, marketers must ask: “Just how transparent should we be about AI?”
Here are key considerations to keep in mind as you work to build consumer confidence in how your brand is using AI:
Consumers want authenticity, and that’s an opportunity for marketers using AI.
AI may be revolutionizing marketing workflows, but consumer expectations for authenticity and emotional connection remain steadfast. According to recent SurveyMonkey research, nearly half (46%) of consumers say they have a more negative view of companies that use AI-generated content in marketing, and 43% are less likely to do business with them. Why? Many (45%) feel AI content lacks authenticity.
But this doesn’t mean AI is off-limits. It means marketers must be thoughtful in how they integrate it.
People want to see more real and relatable storytelling—content that highlights genuine experiences rather than overly polished corporate marketing campaigns (or technically honed ones!). Even at its best, AI cannot replicate the human emotion, creativity, or empathy present in truly impactful marketing campaigns. When used intentionally, AI can free up teams to focus more on what really resonates: authentic storytelling, empathy, and human connection. In this way, AI becomes a tool not to replace human creativity, but to enable it.
The same applies to visuals. In a Getty Images study, nearly 90% of consumers said they want to know whether an image was AI-generated. This underscores a key takeaway for brands: it’s not just about avoiding AI—it’s about being transparent and selective in how you use it.
AI isn’t fooling consumers, but that’s a good thing.
While AI-generated content may be harder to detect outright, many people can still sense when something feels off, whether it’s repetitive phrasing, a generic tone, or overly polite wording. That intuition creates a growing need for marketers to clarify where and how AI plays a role.
And many marketers are aligned with consumers on this. Our data shows nearly one-third cite a lack of authenticity (30%) and personalization (27%) as key challenges with AI-generated marketing content. But rather than abandoning AI, savvy marketers are using it as a creative starting point, not the final product. The real opportunity lies in pairing AI’s efficiency with a strong editorial voice, lived experience, and brand-specific nuance.
In a crowded, content-saturated market, marketers who use AI transparently—and infuse it with genuine human insight—will be the ones who stand out and earn trust.
Consumers want to see behind the curtain.
As marketers look to use AI more intentionally, the next step is to show consumers exactly how it fits into the brand experience. The majority of large companies today are implementing AI in at least one business process, but about one-fifth (18%) have a responsible AI council with decision-making authority, according to a McKinsey study. Companies that derive the most value from AI are expected to be the ones that build and maintain trust with their customers, employees, and stakeholders.
For most marketers, sharing how personal data is used and enabling consumers to control their preferences around its use are standard practices in establishing said trust. Shining a light on AI use in marketing, specifically, takes this one step further by addressing those vital questions of transparency and authenticity that are so important to today’s consumers.
Explaining the role of humans ‘in the loop’ can help alleviate fear.
AI ethics in marketing—and across the business landscape—is a complex, evolving space. We’re all learning and improving alongside the technology itself. That’s why the ethical development and use of AI requires a balance: human input and validation working in tandem with machine-generated outputs. It’s a kind of checks-and-balances system between humanity and technology.
Openly sharing how your organization incorporates humans into the AI feedback loop—especially in how you collect, review, and refine data—can help demystify the process and reinforce your commitment to responsible use.It signals to consumers that your brand is intentional, not experimental.
It may also be helpful for consumers to know that when used responsibly, human involvement will always have a place in AI, both in marketing and across the broader business. As adoption grows and people engage with AI in more aspects of daily life, brands will be better positioned to understand where algorithms can be trusted and where human judgment remains essential.
Like the AI algorithm itself, AI ethics will always be evolving.
At SurveyMonkey, understanding ethics in AI is not a one-step practice; it happens at every stage of the data collection process and helps produce more equitable amplification of the individual voices at the receiving end of our surveys and forms.
And although the way machines learn may never be fully understood, the way those learnings can be used to complement our efforts as marketers is becoming clearer. Sharing your approach to AI is a positive way to cultivate goodwill and grow trust with the consumers who want to put their faith in you.
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Priya Gill
Vice President & Head of Global Marketing at SurveyMonkey
Priya Gill leads a global marketing organization focused on building a brand that resonates and a go-to-market (GTM) engine that performs. Over the past 15+ years, she has helped B2B SaaS companies sharpen their positioning, launch category-defining products, and drive growth across both self-serve and sales-assisted motions. Her experience across B2B and B2C models has shaped her approach to marketing: blending broad-scale reach with targeted execution to connect with everyone from individual users to executive decision-makers. Whether it’s repositioning a legacy brand or shaping a new GTM strategy, she is energized by solving complex problems that demand clear vision and coordinated execution.
