Viewers Think They See AI Everywhere, And It’s Changing How They Trust Brands
When creating video content, brands that want to stand out should put people first. Brief Summary Most consumers think they can spot AI-made videos, and that belief alone is enough to shape how they judge brands.
Even when viewers may be incorrect about how a video was made, perceived AI content frequently lowers trust. Still, videos with real people in them instill far more confidence than content with no faces or a fake appearance. AI works best as a behind-the-scenes helper, not a replacement for human presence, voice, or judgment.
More than 8 out of 10 Americans say they’ve watched a video they believe was created by artificial intelligence. Whether or not that’s actually true doesn’t matter much anymore, because that snap judgment is already affecting how people feel about brands.
According to a recent video survey conducted by Animoto, a platform for making videos, 82.6 percent of customers have watched videos that they believe were created by AI. Among those who believe they’re seeing AI content, more than a third say it lowers their trust in the brand behind it. Meanwhile, nearly 78% of people say they trust videos featuring real people more than those without human faces or voices.
The findings come at a time when AI video tools are becoming more accessible and brands are racing to produce more content faster. Crucially, however, the research points to a disconnect: what saves time for marketers might be costing them credibility with audiences.
In September 2025, 460 people were surveyed, including marketing professionals at small to medium-sized businesses and everyday consumers. AI tools like video generators or ChatGPT were already familiar to all of the participants. In addition, the company sought responses from more than one hundred of its own users to contextualize the numbers. Why Audiences Distrust AI-Generated Videos
Although responses from Animoto users suggest that viewers are picking up on patterns, the survey did not ask respondents to identify specific tells that reveal AI-generated content. “A whole set of signals, and most importantly, it’s a failure to fit into the real context in which the video should take place,” Olga Mirkovic, one of the survey respondents, said of it. Aaliyah Miller, a different user, said that some AI videos have "a look and feel that tells you it is AI." She also said that "videos are meant to be engaging and fresh." That must be possible for AI to accomplish for viewers and users. The issue of trust extends beyond aesthetics. Separate research cited in the report found that 88% of consumers consider brand trust as important as price and quality when making purchases. Three-quarters of U.S. adults think it’s extremely or very important to know whether images, videos, or text were created by AI or people.
This creates a peculiar situation for brands. Even if their videos aren’t AI-generated, audiences making assumptions about production methods can damage brand perception before the message even lands. Regardless of what actually transpired behind the scenes, perception becomes reality. AI everywhere
Is it AI? Perception matters more than reality when it comes to branding. (Shutterstock user Gorodenkoff is credited) Marketers Want AI Help Without Losing Creative Control
Despite the explosion in AI adoption, marketing professionals aren’t ready to hand over creative control. The survey found that marketers want AI to speed up their workflow, not replace their judgment about branding, voice, or which footage to use.
Roya Safarian, another survey respondent, explained the balance: “AI can enhance storytelling as long as the brand still keeps a human touch. The key is finding the right balance: technology should complement the message, not take the place of the genuine voice. This creates a practical challenge for brands trying to keep up with content demands. AI can generate scripts, suggest edits, and even create entire videos from text prompts. That all sounds great, but the data shows audiences can often tell when a video lacks human involvement, and that perception carries real consequences for brand reputation.
The findings' tension was summed up by Animoto CEO Beth Forester as follows: "The data is clear: consumers are curious about AI but confident in humans." Generative AI can speed up and scale up your video creation, but it’s no replacement for authenticity.”
The survey revealed that marketers have clear boundaries about what they’ll delegate to AI. They want tools that enhance their existing creative process rather than ones that attempt to replicate human judgment about brand voice, visual style, or which moments deserve emphasis.
In video marketing, human faces continue to earn trust. One particular finding stood out above the rest: 77.9% of consumers trust videos featuring real people. The simple act of showing up on camera appears to be one of the fastest ways to build credibility, even as AI tools become more sophisticated at generating realistic-looking content.
This preference for human presence held steady across different age groups in the survey. Younger consumers, who generally show more comfort with AI tools, still reported higher trust levels for videos featuring real people compared to those without visible humans.
Another respondent, Farrukh Kamran, explained why video continues to outperform other content formats: “I use video because it’s the most powerful way to tell a story, share emotions, and connect with people.”
Even as AI changes how videos get made, the fundamental reason people respond to video hasn’t shifted. People still want to see other people, hear real voices, and feel like someone is actually talking to them rather than at them.
For brands navigating 2026, the report suggests using AI as a production assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. That means letting AI handle time-consuming tasks like transcription, initial edits, or generating draft scripts, while keeping humans visible in the final product and maintaining control over brand voice and creative decisions.
The practical takeaway here is that audiences aren’t opposed to AI helping create content. They’re opposed to content that feels like it was made without any human involved at all. Brands that show their faces, use their own footage, and maintain a distinctive voice can still benefit from AI’s efficiency gains without triggering the trust penalties that come when videos feel too synthetic.
Survey Techniques Animoto conducted a mixed-methods study in September 2025 examining how video and AI are changing content creation and audience trust. The research combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to capture both marketer intentions and consumer perceptions.
In the quantitative portion, two groups of 460 qualified U.S. participants were surveyed. The consumer segment included adults ages 22-64 who had watched at least one brand video in the past month. Adults between the ages of 22 and 64 who personally create or supervise video production at least once per month comprised the marketer segment. These individuals work for organizations with 10 to 1,000 employees. All respondents confirmed familiarity with AI tools including ChatGPT, image or video generators, or text-to-speech systems. Researchers screened out individuals with no video or AI experience.
A qualitative follow-up survey gathered open-ended responses from more than 100 Animoto users. These responses provided context and direct quotes featured throughout the report.