Efficacy and trust in AI-generated advertising

Research has found AI-generated advertising may be undermining the very thing brands rely on most – trust.

A recent report from TBWA\Australia and Ideally – The synthetic authorship penalty: Emerging evidence that AI-executed brand communication depresses consumer trust across categories – found advertisements which incorporated generative AI triggered significant trust penalties among consumers. These effects were even worse when AI use had been disclosed.

Compounding the trust issue, experts warn consumers are increasingly unable to distinguish between what is real and what is artificial.

According to Deloitte’s 2024 report titled Deepfake disruption: A cybersecurity-scale challenge and its far-reaching consequences, 59 per cent of respondents could not tell the difference between AI-generated and human-created content, while 68 per cent feared being deceived by the media.

University of Western Australia Business School Associate Professor Fang Liu said this ambiguity hampered people’s ability to process information, reducing its effectiveness.

“You can only develop a positive attitude to advertising after you comprehend the messages,” she said.

“If almost 60 per cent of consumers cannot be sure if the contents are created by AI or a human being, the confusion will delay the processing efficiency.”

Dr Liu said disclosing AI usage would improve our collective media literacy and cater to those who could not determine when it had been used.

“If we commonly disclose AI use across different industries, we will improve our media literacy and better protect society and the common good.”

Perth-based Advertising Business Manager Dom Driscoll echoed this view, saying disclosure promotes transparency between brands and consumers.

While AI advertising is growing fast, Mr Driscoll said it did not pose a threat to traditional creativity.

“It’s quick and efficient – for some advertisers, this might be exactly what they are looking for,” he said.

“For people who still want to speak to emotion and bring people on board, the traditional way of advertising will still be around.”

To this end, Mr Driscoll said the creative component of advertising should remain humanised rather than rely on AI.

“Speaking to someone’s emotions is how you get sales across the line, which is the main reason why many people advertise,” he said.

Author: Clare Perrott is a third year Journalism and Broadcast Media student at Edith Cowan University. Passionate about the arts and Perth culture, Clare is also a musician and was nominated for a WA Music Award in 2025.