New research from Storyblok finds 70% of US consumers say ads in AI search are the fastest way to break that trust

NEW YORK, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Storyblok, a leading headless content management system built for the AI era, released new research revealing how US consumers are navigating the rise of AI-driven discovery and what it means for the brands fighting to show up in it.

AI tools are fast becoming the default starting point for how consumers find, evaluate, and decide, replacing traditional search and fundamentally changing the rules of visibility. The brands that appear in AI-generated answers are the ones whose content is accurate, structured, and authoritative enough to be trusted by the systems making recommendations on their behalf.

To understand how Americans are navigating this shift, Storyblok surveyed 500 US-based consumers on their attitudes toward AI trust, brand recommendations, and advertising in AI search environments. The findings reveal consumers are coming around to AI slowly, and on their own terms.

AI confidence is rising, but it isn’t unconditional

Nearly half of Americans (46%) say their confidence in AI-generated answers has grown over the past year, with over a third (37%) saying their trust hasn’t moved at all, and 17% have actually grown less confident.

“AI is changing where discovery happens, but our research shows trust hasn’t fully caught up yet,” said Charlene Kale, VP of Marketing at Storyblok. “It seems consumers are warming to AI, but slowly, and on their own terms. For brands, that means the fundamentals matter more than ever. Accurate, structured, and well-maintained content is what gets you into AI-generated answers, and it’s what keeps you there. The brands treating content quality as a strategic asset today are the ones who will own AI visibility tomorrow and help build stronger consumer confidence.”

Ads in AI search are a trust killer

When asked how they would respond if they discovered an AI result had been influenced by a brand paying to appear there, 70% of respondents said it would damage their trust in that AI tool and cause them to use it less, with 17% saying they would stop using it entirely.

Multiple factors impact trust in AI brand recommendations

When asked what would make them trust an AI brand recommendation, consumers gave no clear answer, with responses being nearly evenly divided across five options. The most telling result: “I don’t trust AI recommendations for brands” came in first at 21.4%, barely ahead of accurate brand content (21%), peer validation (20.4%), prior brand knowledge (20.2%), and platform reputation (17%).

When AI gets it wrong, brands pay

When AI delivers inaccurate information about a brand, 37% of consumers would hold the AI platform responsible, and 21% would blame the brand directly for not having accurate content online. That’s 1 in 5 people blaming the brand for something AI said, whether the brand had anything to do with it or not.

AI ad conversion has a long way to go

Despite the rush to monetize AI search environments, consumer behavior tells a different story. When asked about their most recent intentional ad conversion, 36% of respondents cited social media, 25% cited traditional search, and just 10% cited an AI search tool. Perhaps most notably, 28% said they haven’t intentionally clicked on a digital ad anywhere in the past year, meaning more than a quarter of consumers are effectively unreachable through paid digital channels.

Research Methodology

The survey was conducted among 500 US consumers in June 2026. The research was commissioned by Storyblok to understand evolving consumer attitudes toward AI trust, brand recommendations, and advertising in AI search environments.

About Storyblok (https://www.storyblok.com)

Storyblok is a headless CMS that enables marketers and developers to create with joy and succeed in the AI-driven content era. It empowers you to deliver structured and consistent content everywhere: websites, apps, AI search, and beyond.

Legendary brands like Virgin Media O2, Oatly, and TomTom use Storyblok to make a bigger, faster market impact. It’s Joyful Headless™, and it changes everything.

Press Contact
Brandon Watts
Director of PR and Communications
brandon.watts@storyblok.com
404-202-3476

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SOURCE Storyblok