60% of U.S. Consumers Distrust Brands Using AI in Messaging

Brands face a paradox in 2026: while traffic from AI search engines climbs, consumer trust in AI-generated content has hit a low point. A new survey from WordPress VIP found that 60% of U.S. consumers view brands that prominently feature "AI" in their messaging as a turnoff, even as enterprises report growing referral traffic from AI-powered search platforms.

The research, based on responses from 2,000 participants including 800 enterprise decision-makers and 1,200 U.S. adults, underscores a fundamental disconnect between corporate AI strategies and audience expectations.

The trust deficit

Eighty-six percent of survey respondents said they don't fully trust AI and prefer to explore original sources themselves. The skepticism runs deep: 42% of consumers indicated they trust AI-generated answers without clear attribution less than they trust airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and medical bills.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that the internet feels "less human" than it did a decade ago, according to the April survey first reported by TechCrunch.

For consumers, clicking through to verify an original source remains the top trust signal, cited by 33% of respondents. Eighty percent said information on the web should remain openly accessible rather than controlled by a small number of large organizations.

The enterprise dilemma

Despite consumer wariness, enterprises are doubling down on AI discoverability. Sixty percent of enterprise respondents reported increased traffic from AI search engines and answer platforms over the past year. Seventy-four percent of enterprise decision-makers now consider AI discoverability and attribution a main or significant priority.

"People used to build websites for other people," said Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP, in a statement accompanying the report. "Now you have to build websites for AI agents acting on behalf of those people. If your site's content isn't legible to AI, you are invisible to a growing share of how people search."

Alvey added that content must also feel "human and trustworthy" for the small percentage of users who click past AI-generated answers, or they won't return.

Why it matters

This research captures a critical inflection point for digital strategy. Companies can no longer choose between optimizing for AI discovery and maintaining human trust—they must do both simultaneously. Brands that lean too heavily on AI branding risk alienating the audiences they're trying to reach, while those that ignore AI search engines may become invisible in an evolving discovery landscape. The findings suggest successful content strategies will require technical optimization for machine readers paired with transparent attribution and authentic human voice for end users.

The path forward

WordPress VIP, the enterprise arm of Automattic's WordPress platform, positioned the findings as evidence that brands need dual-track strategies: technical optimization for AI discoverability combined with transparent, human-centered content for actual readers.

The survey results were first reported by TechCrunch and conducted by WordPress VIP in April 2026.