Survey: Consumers Trust AI Answers More When Source is Familiar

A new survey by Raptive, which polled 3,083 U.S. consumers, revealed that 74% consider knowing the source behind an AI-generated answer or recommendation to be extremely or very important.

When an AI answer was linked to a creator or expert respondents already knew and trusted, trust levels rose to 75.4%. This figure climbed to 77.2% when the source was a familiar publisher or media brand, compared to just 42% when no source was shown or when the source was unfamiliar.

The findings suggest that as AI becomes a routine tool for research and information gathering, the visibility and recognition of the source are crucial for consumer trust. While 72% of consumers use AI tools at least a few times a week, they still rely on identifiable human expertise.

Furthermore, when an AI answer conflicts with a trusted source, only 19% of consumers would believe the AI. A significant 33% would stick with their trusted source, and 37% would investigate further, often using search engines like Google (76%).