April 17, 2026
Inauthentic Experiences Break Trust, New Survey Finds
Consumers are not rejecting AI in marketing and customer care, but they are demanding honesty about how and when it is being used.
Emplifi’s new Digital Authenticity in the Age of AI report examines how people perceive brand authenticity as AI adoption accelerates across social media and customer service teams.
The report reveals that 93% of consumers say authentic engagement builds trust, while 85% say they are willing to pay more for brands they perceive as genuine. The flipside is equally significant, with more than half of respondents saying they would stop purchasing from a brand after an inauthentic experience, and 30% would go so far as to leave a negative review.
These numbers arrive at a time when AI-generated content is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Just over a year ago, nearly 50% of marketers were already using AI for image and video creation, and the momentum has only intensified since then. Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that within three years, brands will use agentic AI solutions to autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues without any human involvement. Over half of customers already say they would be comfortable letting a generative AI assistant handle support interactions on their behalf, signalling that the appetite for AI-led service is real, provided it comes with the right safeguards.
Authenticity Is Built through Real Customer Interactions
Transparency is the non-negotiable condition consumers attach to all of this. More than 90% of respondents said they expect brands to disclose when AI is being used in marketing. In customer care specifically, 84% identified quick response time as the most important marker of an authentic interaction, suggesting that speed and honesty are not competing priorities but complementary ones.
“Our research proves consumers are not against brands using AI, they simply want brands to be transparent about AI use while giving them the information they need to make informed decisions. Consumers expect always-on, instant access, and they trust brands that keep up. That means responding quickly and meeting customers in the moment is more important than ever,” said Emplifi CMO Susan Ganeshan.
When it comes to evaluating brand credibility, the report found that consumers lean most heavily on sources they can independently verify. Sixty-six percent of respondents cited search engine results as a top source of authenticity, followed closely by 63% who pointed to user-generated content. The emphasis on peer validation and discoverability is consistent with evolving consumer research habits, where traditional search engines still dominate the early stages of the buying journey even as AI tools increasingly play a role in product comparison.
Customers Are Doing the Homework. Are Brands?
Consumer research behaviour also changes depending on price. For products or services that cost more than $500, 56% of respondents said they visit three or more websites before committing to a purchase, working to verify the credibility and quality of what they are buying. For purchases under $20, the journey is shorter and typically begins on online marketplaces or company websites.
There’s a critical tension for brands racing to embed AI into their marketing and customer care functions. The technology itself is welcome, while the lack of disclosure is not. Consumers are doing more homework than ever, cross-referencing sources, reading user reviews, and comparing experiences before they spend. The brands that earn long-term loyalty will be those that match the speed and efficiency AI enables with the openness consumers now consider a baseline expectation.
“Authenticity is built through real customer interactions, how brands show up, how quickly they respond, and how consistently they deliver,” Ganeshan added.
