Consumers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to discover and evaluate products, but that acceptance does not automatically extend to AI-generated advertising. New research from Net Conversion highlights a growing gap between how consumers use AI as a shopping assistant and how they respond when brands use AI to create advertising, raising new questions for marketers about authenticity, creative strategy and the role of human validation in AI-era customer journeys.

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of the consumer purchase journey, but new research suggests marketers face a credibility challenge when they move the technology from shopping assistance to advertising production.

The third wave of Net Conversion's MORE Intelligence Consumer Pulse found that 54% of consumers say they trust a brand less when its advertising appears to be AI-generated. The effect is particularly notable among younger audiences, with 38% of consumers ages 18 to 29 strongly agreeing with the statement. Meanwhile, 63% of consumers under 40 say AI-generated content has already changed how they interact with brand messaging.

The contrast becomes clearer on the other side of the buying journey. Net Conversion found that 54% of consumers now use AI tools at least sometimes to research purchases, increasing to 60% among consumers under 40. Among AI users, 45% say an AI recommendation increases their trust in a brand.

The findings point to an important distinction for marketing organizations: consumers may value AI when it reduces research effort, while remaining more cautious when they can see the technology being used to automate the brand's own communication.

AI is also expanding the consideration phase rather than simply replacing conventional search. According to Net Conversion, 74% of consumers who use AI for research say its recommendations increase the number of brands they consider.

However, AI recommendations are rarely treated as the final source of truth. Consumers continue moving between AI assistants and traditional digital properties to validate information. Brand websites are used by 59% of AI researchers for cross-checking, followed by search engines at 57%, retailer pages at 55%, YouTube at 53% and Reddit at 53%.

That behavior aligns with other 2026 research showing that AI discovery and conventional web research are increasingly interconnected. The Trade Desk Intelligence and PA Consulting reported in September that 95% of consumers surveyed double-check AI-generated search results, often using the open internet for additional validation.

Reddit's own August 2026 research similarly found that consumers frequently validate AI recommendations with human perspectives before purchasing.

For marketers, this changes what visibility means. A brand may first enter a consumer's consideration set through an AI-generated recommendation, but the subsequent evaluation can happen across search, owned websites, retail marketplaces, video and online communities.

Google's 2026 research describes a similar fragmentation of the customer journey, with AI Search increasingly supporting conversational discovery and product consideration rather than functioning as a separate destination from traditional search.

At the same time, Net Conversion's research indicates that advertising attention itself is becoming harder to secure. Fifty-two percent of consumers say they are tuning out, skipping or blocking digital advertising more than they did a year earlier. Nearly half frequently encounter the same advertisement across multiple platforms.

The findings also highlight the importance of cross-device behavior. Net Conversion reports that 88% of consumers regularly use a second device while watching television, while 25% search for a brand on their phone immediately after seeing an advertisement. Among consumers under 40, that figure rises to 31%.

This creates a more complicated media environment for advertisers. A streaming advertisement may generate a search rather than an immediate conversion, while an AI recommendation may generate a later visit to a brand website that conventional attribution does not clearly connect to the original interaction.

The research therefore points toward an emerging marketing model in which AI discovery, traditional search, community validation, brand content and advertising work as interconnected touchpoints.

For marketing teams, the implication is not simply to increase or decrease AI usage. Instead, brands need to distinguish between using AI to make consumer experiences more useful and using AI to automate creative communication that consumers may perceive as impersonal.

Market Landscape

AI-assisted shopping is moving from experimentation toward a more established component of product discovery.

NIQ and World Data Lab reported in August 2026 that 74% of shoppers globally use AI for product discovery, while their research also examined the interaction between AI, retail media and social commerce.

Other research suggests consumers still place significant value on information beyond algorithmic recommendations. McKinsey's 2026 consumer research found that generative AI responses remain less trusted for product research than several human and traditional information sources, despite growing usage.

That creates a two-stage environment for brands: AI can influence discovery, while external sources can influence confidence.

For marketers, this expands the scope of SEO, AEO and GEO beyond traditional rankings. Brand information needs to be discoverable and understandable across AI assistants, search engines, review environments, video platforms and community discussions.

Strategic Outlook

The emerging challenge is less about whether marketers should use AI and more about where AI adds value without weakening consumer trust.

AI can accelerate content production, audience analysis and media optimization. But the Net Conversion findings suggest that consumers may distinguish between AI helping them and AI being used to communicate with them.

That makes transparency, distinctive creative, useful first-party content and credible third-party validation increasingly important.

Marketing teams also need measurement systems capable of connecting fragmented journeys. An AI recommendation may lead to a branded search, a YouTube review, a retailer visit and eventually a purchase. Last-click reporting can overlook much of that sequence.

The next phase of AI marketing is therefore likely to involve both AI-powered discovery optimization and stronger human-centered brand experiences.

Top Insights

• AI is entering product research, with 54% of consumers surveyed by Net Conversion using AI tools at least sometimes to research purchases.
• AI-generated advertising faces a trust gap, as 54% say they trust brands less when their advertisements appear to be AI-made.
• AI expands consideration, with 74% of AI researchers saying recommendations increase the number of brands they consider.
• Verification remains essential, with consumers checking AI recommendations across brand websites, search engines, retailers, YouTube and Reddit.
• Advertising attention is fragmenting, making cross-device behavior, AI discovery and multi-channel measurement increasingly important to media planning.

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