Consumers may not trust AI enough to let it make the final purchase decision. But they increasingly use it to decide which brands are worth considering — creating a new battle for AI visibility, machine credibility and share of recommendation.
There is something peculiar happening in the relationship between consumers and artificial intelligence. People continue to express doubts about AI-generated information, worry about accuracy and question whether machines should make decisions for them. Then they open ChatGPT, Gemini, or another AI assistant and ask which laptop to buy, which CRM is best for a small business, which skincare product suits sensitive skin, or where they should stay on their next trip.
At first glance, that looks like a contradiction. In reality, it may reveal something far more important for marketing: trust and influence are beginning to separate.
Consumers do not need to believe AI is always right to allow it to shape a decision. They only need to find it useful enough to ask. And increasingly, they do.
McKinsey research illustrates this tension: generative AI is gaining ground in product research while remaining among the less trusted information sources. Consumers do not necessarily have to trust AI enough to let it make the purchase; they only have to use it enough to let it shape what gets considered in the first place.
A consumer may not blindly accept an AI...
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