Social media is deeply woven into everyday life in the U.S., and adult usage continues to grow. According to the Pew Research Center, YouTube leads the way with 84% of U.S. adults using it, followed by Facebook at 71%, while Instagram is used by around half of all adults.
What’s changing isn’t usage — it’s trust. Americans still rely on social media for local news and product research, but they’re far more selective about who they believe. Pew Research shows that trust in both national and local news organizations is declining across every age group. At the same time, the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Monitor reports that only 22% of people trust social media companies.
As bots, fake reviews, and undisclosed AI-generated content continue to flood social platforms, authenticity has become more important than ever.
Because confidence in platforms’ ability to moderate content or surface reliable information has weakened, many users now turn to individual creators they already trust. Rather than relying on algorithms alone, people look for familiar voices to help explain, interpret, and add context. This shift creates a clear opportunity for creators who can consistently demonstrate credibility and earn trust.
This article takes a closer look at what causes people to lose trust, what helps rebuild it, and what marketers can do to maintain credibility over time.
What’s Not Working
Polished perfection and overly engineered, AI-generated content aren’t connecting with audiences the way brands might expect. When companies forget to lead with a human-first approach, their campaigns can easily backfire — as seen with the AI company that launched a billboard featuring an AI “employee” and the line, “Stop Hiring Humans,” or Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ad.
If the goal is to create content that feels genuinely human and builds real engagement, there are certain approaches worth avoiding. To stay authentic and connect meaningfully with your audience, steer clear of the following:
Overly Polished Content & Using AI Models
Audiences are quick to spot content that feels too “perfect” or heavily AI-generated. While Ryanair is usually known for its bold, engaging tone, a recent AI-generated TikTok didn’t resonate with viewers (pun intended).
Looking through the negative comments, many people focused less on the video itself and more on their frustration with the airline’s service. One commenter asked, “Why is Ryanair using AI?” while another replied, “Saves money. That’s all they care about.”
For a brand that’s typically self-aware and fast to engage with its audience, this felt like a missed moment. Instead of leaning into its usual personality, Ryanair came across as distant — losing a chance to connect in a more authentic way.
It’s true that AI can significantly reduce costs. According to an Ahrefs survey, human-written content costs 4.7 times more than AI-generated content. But those savings often come at the expense of trust and believability.
A similar reaction played out with Trivago. The brand originally featured German football manager Jürgen Klopp in its commercials, but later replaced him with an AI lookalike. The switch confused and frustrated viewers, many of whom shared their reactions on Reddit. A quick look at the comments on the lookalike video shows just how strongly people responded.
Tone-Deaf Concepts
While this isn’t a social media example, Apple’s “Crush” iPad Pro ad shows how even brands that usually get it right can miss the mark. Despite its high production value and polished execution, Apple ultimately pulled the ad after strong negative reactions. Many viewers described it as “soul-crushing.”
The ad showed objects like pianos, guitars, cameras, and paintings being literally crushed into a single iPad — a visual meant to suggest that the thinnest iPad could replace tools and art forms people have valued for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Instead of inspiring viewers, the message came across as dismissive of human creativity.
As a result, the concept felt tone deaf and left many Apple fans — typically some of the brand’s most loyal supporters — feeling disappointed.
This example underlines just how important tone is when trying to connect with an audience. People are far less responsive to generic brand messaging that feels scripted or machine-generated. Content that sparks positive emotions and clearly aligns with your brand’s values is far more likely to resonate and build trust.
Undisclosed Synthetic Content & the Risk of Misinformation
Research from Rutgers University shows that public opinion on AI is divided. While people appreciate AI for tasks like automation and data analysis, they still prefer human storytelling when it comes to content. Many users can easily spot AI-written text thanks to familiar giveaways, such as unnatural punctuation or an overuse of em dashes.
When brands use AI-generated content without being transparent about it, they risk pushing their audience away. In fact, more than half of social media users (52%) say they’re concerned about brands posting AI-created content without clearly disclosing it.
There’s also a strong fear around misinformation. According to Ahrefs, 62% of respondents believe the biggest risk of using AI is the potential to spread inaccurate or misleading information. In that same study, a clear majority (65%) said they view human-written content as higher quality than content produced by AI.
Replacing the Human Touch
AI may be cost-effective, but it can quickly undermine trust when it replaces writing rooted in real, lived experience. A clear example of this was the backlash to Google’s Gemini commercial, “Dear Sydney.” In the ad, a father asks Gemini to help him write a letter to Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, expressing how inspiring she is.
The reaction was swift and negative. Many viewers described the ad as sad or unsettling, with one commenter saying it “completely negates why someone would write a letter to an athlete—or anyone—at all.”
How Marketers Can Demonstrate Trust
Authenticity will always win in marketing. When you’re upfront with your audience about what your product does—and just as importantly, what it doesn’t—your messaging feels more believable, and your campaigns land better. Beyond simply avoiding common missteps, here are a few ways to take a more proactive, trust-first approach:
Collaborate With Micro-Creators and Subject-Matter Experts
A Deloitte survey found that around 50% of Gen Z and millennial consumers feel a stronger personal connection to social media creators than they do to TV personalities or actors.
That’s why smart influencer marketing—especially within your specific niche—can strengthen trust rather than damage it. Partnering with creators who genuinely use your product and openly share its benefits, limitations, and reasoning helps your brand feel more real, relatable, and credible.
Choose Credible Partners Over Famous Ones
Around three in ten U.S. adult social media users say they’ve bought something after seeing it promoted by an influencer or content creator. But trust isn’t built on follower counts alone. Research shows that authenticity—not audience size—is what really matters, and that follower numbers don’t have a statistically significant impact on trust.
That means choosing the right creator is less about reach and more about fit. The strongest partnerships come from creators who genuinely align with your brand values and can demonstrate real expertise. These are the people who can thoughtfully review your product and create content that feels informed, useful, and believable.
This shift is already happening. According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2025, brands are increasingly working with nano and micro-influencers for more targeted and cost-effective collaborations. Smaller creators are often seen as more relatable and authentic because they show real product use, explain their reasoning, and are trusted voices within their communities.
Ensure Transparency and Clear Disclosures
Transparency around AI use is no longer optional. Sprout’s Pulse Survey from Q2 2024 found that 94% of consumers believe AI-generated content should always be disclosed. While there isn’t a single global law covering this yet, expectations are clear—and regulations are catching up. In August 2024, the FTC introduced a final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials. Platforms are also stepping in: TikTok now labels AI-generated content, Meta adds “AI info” tags to video, audio, and images, and YouTube requires certain effects and synthetic content to be flagged as “Altered Content” during upload.
Being upfront about brand partnerships and sponsored content also goes a long way in building trust. According to Sprout Social, 86% of people say they’re more likely to give a brand a second chance after a bad experience if that brand has a strong track record of transparency.
Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines reinforce this idea by emphasizing trust as a core part of E-E-A-T. To stay credible, be clear about who’s behind your content, protect your reputation, and consistently follow ethical, transparent content practices.
Monitor Your Brand Mentions Alongside AI
Even if your brand isn’t actively using AI, that doesn’t automatically protect you. Users who are already skeptical of AI can still form a negative impression of your brand if they see it appearing alongside low-quality or unofficial AI-generated content.
In an email to Marketing Brew, Google spokesperson Nate Funk Houser noted that “YouTube doesn’t currently offer advertisers the ability to opt out of appearing next to AI-generated content.” That makes brand monitoring even more important, since you may not always control the environments where your ads or mentions appear.
Keeping a close eye on where and how your brand shows up online—and distancing yourself from misleading or fake content when needed—is essential to maintaining credibility and long-term trust.
Tap Into UGC And Human-Led Brand Presence
Brands still need real people and real voices to bring their stories to life. Human faces help convey ideas more naturally, build emotional connection, and communicate messages in a way that feels genuine and relatable.
HubSpot’s Instagram is a great example of this. By featuring its own marketing manager in posts—such as content explaining retargeting ads—the brand makes its marketing feel more approachable and human, rather than purely corporate.
User-generated content (UGC) also plays a key role in building trust. When customers share their own experiences, it feels more authentic because the content isn’t paid or scripted. UGC gives people a sense of involvement and credibility that branded content alone can’t match. On top of that, Google is increasingly surfacing videos, forums, and UGC as user behavior shifts toward more experience-driven, community-led content.
Support Community-Led Content
Put time and resources into creators and communities that already have real influence in your space.
It’s just as important to show up where conversations are actually happening. Niche communities on platforms like Reddit, Discord, and Threads offer a more transparent, two-way connection with your audience, and they benefit users by sharing honest, experience-based feedback. What works in these spaces isn’t broadcasting polished content, but genuinely participating in discussions?
So what’s more effective: hosting AMAs, answering real questions, and helping people solve problems on Reddit—or trying to sell through an AI-generated avatar that lacks emotional connection? The answer is clear. We recommend the former.
Trust Is Being Rebuilt Through People, Not Platforms
Rather than putting all your energy into using AI to churn out more creative assets, consider investing in people instead. Partner with nano-influencers, add clear context and disclosures to your campaigns, and encourage active UGC-driven conversations in communities on platforms like Reddit.
People aren’t inspired by bots or by voices that lack real, lived experience. Trust is built when audiences see themselves reflected in relatable creators and thoughtfully produced content that feels genuine.
In the end, the brands that stand out are the ones that feel human. Choosing to lean into human-led content isn’t automatic—it’s a deliberate decision, and it’s one that’s firmly in your hands.