Brands can get cited by AI easily, but winning consumer trust is hard

A report from Automattic's WordPress VIP says it's easier for brands to get cited by AI than to win consumer trust. 60% of US consumers dislike brands using the term 'AI' in marketing, and 86% don't fully trust AI-made content, often checking the original source.

42% of consumers say AI answers without clear source labels are even less trustworthy than airline fees, confusing privacy policies, or medical bills. Nearly three-quarters of people think the internet today has less human touch than ten years ago.

The report shows 60% of business respondents saw more website traffic from AI in the past year, and 74% of decision-makers make boosting brand visibility in AI a key priority. WordPress VIP CTO Brian Alvey says websites must work with AI agents, or brands go invisible in AI search channels.

33% of consumers say clicking through to the original content is their top way to judge trustworthiness; 80% believe online info should be publicly accessible, not controlled by a few big organizations.