60% of Americans repelled by the word "AI" in brand advertising — WordPress VIP survey

Six out of ten American consumers say that mentions of "AI" in brand messaging, advertising, or product descriptions put them off — that's the key finding from a new survey conducted by the WordPress VIP platform.

Numbers That Surprised Marketers

The WordPress VIP study — a cloud platform for major media organizations, corporate blogs, and publishers — surveyed consumers in the USA. The focus: how people react to AI-oriented brand communications and content created with AI. The result was clear-cut: most people are wary of the word "AI" itself in marketing materials. Moreover, the level of skepticism doesn't decrease as familiarity with the technology grows.

• 60% of respondents called mentions of AI in branding "off-putting"
• Consumers trust AI-generated answers less than texts from human authors
• Skepticism is particularly high in categories with high trust value: health, finance, news
• Younger audiences (18–34) are slightly more loyal to AI communications than older generations
• Even with high-quality AI answers, the mere fact of their "machine" origin reduces trust

Meanwhile, companies are moving in the exact opposite direction.

Business Sees It Differently

While consumers react warily to the word "AI," corporate teams are actively investing in presence in AI search. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Overviews — these tools are becoming important sources of traffic and a first point of contact with new audiences. For marketers and SEO specialists, this means a shift in paradigm. Traditional search engine optimization is supplemented by a new discipline — GEO (generative engine optimization): it's not just about securing a position in search results, but also becoming a source that an AI agent cites in its answer to the user. The problem is that the audience brands are trying to attract through AI channels doesn't trust those channels very much.

Honesty Doesn't Save

Many companies now openly mark content as "written with AI" — partly out of transparency considerations. The logic is clear: honesty is better than silence. But the WordPress VIP survey shows: such openness doesn't always work in the brand's favor. A consumer reads the "AI" label — and perceives it not as a sign of transparency, but as a signal of reduced quality. As if the company had cut corners on people or replaced genuine expertise with automation.

"Consumers value authenticity.

When a brand emphasizes AI where there used to be a person, it's read as a replacement, not an improvement."

The gap is particularly painful for media publishers — it's their reader audience that WordPress VIP knows best. People accustomed to authored content with a distinct perspective react sharply to the sense of "machine output." The practical takeaway for marketers: AI works more effectively in the background. The technology can improve personalization, speed up support, analyze data — but the front of communications is better left to the human voice. Not "we use AI," but "here's what we did for you."

What This Means

The WordPress VIP survey captures a real contradiction: what companies promote as a competitive advantage, consumers perceive as a reason to prefer another brand. AI in marketing currently works better as infrastructure than as a sales argument — and teams that understand this gain a tactical advantage.