Consumers are open to AI-generated promoting when it improves relevance or usefulness, but many still prefer ads made by people, in response to Canva’s 2026 State of Marketing and AI report. The report found that 68% of consumers don’t mind AI in ads when it makes them more helpful or relevant, while other findings showed discomfort with generic or intrusive AI-generated promoting.
The report was conducted with The Harris Poll and surveyed 1,415 marketing leaders and three,547 consumers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and India. Canva said the study examined how marketing teams are using AI and the way consumers are responding to AI-generated promoting.
Canva found that 97% of promoting leaders use AI in each day creative work, while 99% plan to extend AI investment in 2026.
AI ads face a trust gap
While 68% of consumers said they don’t mind AI in ads when it makes them more helpful or relevant, 78% said they might moderately see ads made by people, even when AI could make them higher.
The report also found that 87% of consumers imagine the most effective promoting still needs a human touch. Another 74% said they usually tend to purchase from an ad created entirely by humans than one generated by AI.
According to the report, 70% of consumers said they’ll normally tell when an ad is AI-generated since it appears like it’s “missing its soul.” Another 69% said they expect future ads to appear and feel like the identical AI-generated “slop.”
Canva defines “AI slop” as a term used for generative AI content that’s seen as lacking originality, quality, or deeper meaning. The report cited Meltwater evaluation showing mentions of “AI slop” rose ninefold in 2025, with negative sentiment peaking at 54% in October.
Canva found that 41% of promoting leaders see AI slop as a substantial challenge, at the same time as AI becomes more embedded of their workflows.
Consumers identified several sorts of AI-generated marketing that they find uncomfortable or unappealing. These included social media posts that appear AI-generated and emails that feel machine-personalised. They also included product photos that look computer-generated, AI-sounding voiceovers, and articles or blog posts that appear to have been written by AI.
Consumers were more accepting of AI when it improved relevance, but less accepting of content described as generic or intrusive.
Consumers draw lines on personalisation
The report also examined AI-driven personalisation. Canva found that 58% of consumers don’t want brands using AI to create ads that predict what they want. Another 52% said it feels too personal when an ad knows what they’re about to purchase before they’ve looked for it.
Half of consumers said it feels too personal when an ad refers to something they did offline or appears to read their mind. The report individually found that 68% of consumers don’t mind AI in ads if it makes them more helpful or relevant.
The report found higher levels of consumer support for ads tied to savings, language, location, and timing. It found that 81% want ads that help them get monetary savings, while 80% want ads of their local language. Another 77% want locally relevant ads, and 65% want ads that appear at the best time or place.
Among Gen Z and Millennial consumers, 70% said they pay more attention to the texture of an ad than its production method. Another 69% said they don’t care if an ad has AI polish so long as it includes real people.
Disclosure becomes a part of consumer trust
Seventy per cent of consumers said they imagine it should eventually turn out to be not possible to inform whether an ad was made by AI unless there may be disclosure. Another 56% expect this to occur inside two to 5 years.
Canva found that 74% of consumers would feel more comfortable with AI-generated promoting if organisations had formal policies governing its use.
Marketing leaders also identified areas where they imagine AI cannot fully replace human input. The top response was empathy and emotional intelligence at 42%. This was followed by human imperfection that sparks originality at 41%, and brand intuition or creative judgment at 41%.
See also: Google expands AI Search, shopping, and content verification tools
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