Sixty percent of US consumers find 'AI' messaging off-putting, even as brands race to gain visibility in AI search results.

What happened: A WordPress VIP survey of 2,000 respondents found that 60% of U.S. consumers say brands using 'AI' in their messaging are a turnoff, and 86% don't fully trust AI answers. Additionally, 42% of consumers trust AI-generated answers without clear attribution less than airline fees, confusing privacy policies, and medical bills. Nearly three in four respondents said the internet feels 'less human' than it did 10 years ago.

Why it matters: Brands are investing heavily to appear in AI search results and answer platforms—60% of enterprise respondents reported increased traffic from these sources over the past year, and 74% of enterprise decision-makers called AI discoverability a main or significant priority. However, consumers increasingly value transparency and attribution; 33% said clicking through to see an original source is their top trust signal. This creates tension: visibility to AI agents requires optimized content, but readers still demand human authenticity and clear sourcing to return.

What to watch: Eighty percent of respondents said information on the web should remain openly accessible rather than controlled by a small number of large organizations—a principle that aligns with Automattic's backing of open source WordPress and open web protocols like ActivityPub. The survey suggests brands must now navigate both AI discoverability and human trust simultaneously to succeed.