Gucci came under fire recently when they posted a handful of what appeared to be AI-generated images (and grainy, low-res ones at that) on their Instagram account. “Not loving all the AI,” wrote one commenter. “It’s not luxury if it’s AI,” wrote another. “Does it mean Gucci is broke now?” queried a commenter under an AI-generated image of a horse. “Is this a joke?” wrote another.
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At this point, AI’s incursion into even the most rarified creative spaces seems all but inevitable, but it appears that consumers, including those in Gen Z, are much less enthusiastic about the computer takeover than the executives trying to force it down their throats.
According to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) 82% of advertising executives believe Gen Z feels positive about AI-generated ads. In reality, only about 45% of Gen Z feels positively about AI-generated advertising, according to the report. What’s more, nearly 39% of Gen Z report having negative feelings about AI-created advertising, with one in three describing them as “inauthentic,” and one in four claiming that such AI use is unethical.
According to creator economy expert Donatas Smailys, CEO of Billo App, a creator marketing platform, brands that fail to rebalance toward human-led content risk facing long-term consequences.
“AI-generated content will soon be so easy to make and cost so little that anyone will be able to produce it,” he says. “That means a flood of slop, which we’re already seeing. Besides, such content will increasingly be pushed to be labelled on socials, especially when it’s used to impersonate real humans to cut production costs. Eventually, these labels will be required in the US. It’s only a matter of time before all users, not just Gen Z, stop trusting such brands.”
Of course, distrust is not limited to younger consumers. Older consumers also express discomfort with AI in advertising, but with far lower confidence in their ability to identify AI-generated content. Only 13% of those aged 56-75 say they can reliably detect AI-made ads, increasing their vulnerability to synthetic creative and their distrust of advertising overall.
“Basically, we’re entering a trust crisis in advertising,” says Smailys. “All the early signals — such as the backlash and social media response — are already here. Yes, deploying AI visuals may deliver a short-term boost in engagement or sales. But we’re hungry for organic and creative content, and over time, brands that are or appear inauthentic will disappear.”
Research published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking suggests society is entering what media psychologists describe as a post-visual-certainty era. For decades, video and photography functioned as digital proof that something had occurred. With the rapid evolution of AI-generated media, realism no longer guarantees authenticity.
In response, brands are seeing renewed appetite for visibly human content. Smailys reports a triple increase in Gen-Z creators on his platform since last year, indicating growing interest not only in consuming content but in producing human-first material. In a marketplace where AI production becomes abundant, visible effort and originality increasingly function as competitive advantages.
“The future challenge for brands is not whether to use AI,” says Smailys, “but how to use it without sacrificing authenticity and human resonance. Current consumers are already interpreting that as a lack of effort. And with the next generation set to be AI-native, the issue of authenticity will increase, meaning brands have to start rethinking their AI strategies now, simply to survive.”
