Not long ago, Artificial intelligence (AI) was something you only saw in sci-fi movies. Now, however, it is an everyday tool that people use to process data, create content, distribute information quickly and process data, and it’s here to stay.
Yes, AI is getting lots of attention these days, but brands have been using it for some time – with personalised product recommendations on their websites or voice assistants for customer service. It helps to improve customer satisfaction, boost product discovery, streamline content creation and marketing strategy development, and bring creative ideas to life.
Sadly though, there are some downsides… namely, consumers aren’t always sure what to think about the content it produces or the technology itself. However, that does not mean that consumers are not interested in it.
Bazaarvoice’s survey sought to find out whether consumers trust AI to assist them in creating user-generated content (UGC) and what they really think about it.
Here’s what the respondents said:
When it comes to AI, consumers are ready
It is fair to say that AI has caught everyone’s attention. In fact, 36% say they have used generative AI tools. Of those, over half (55%) say that they would use them again. In addition, 14% say that they plan to use generative AI in the future but haven’t used it before.
Of the just 14% that have used image generators, over half (56%) say that they would use the tool again and they thought it was great. So, even though more have used generative AI compared to image generators, the number of people that would use either technology again is almost identical.
Consumers want AI to help them write reviews
It is a given that most shoppers rely on UGC, such as reviews, videos and photos to make decisions and research products, but some shoppers admit that they worry about leaving reviews themselves.
68% of people at least sometimes feel unsure about what information to share that would be helpful to other customers when writing a review. To add to that, nearly three quarters (73%) say that on at least one occasion they have avoided leaving a review citing not knowing what to say as the reason.
Consumers also believe AI would be able to help them overcome these challenges. Two-thirds (67%) say that it would at least sometimes be helpful if an e-commerce site provided AI-powered coaching, to enable them to leave high-quality product reviews. 49% would want to leave a review where generative AI can guide them on what to write, saying they feel it’ll help them write a better review overall.
Fake reviews are a concern for consumers
It will come as no surprise that consumers are concerned about fake reviews. They can make shoppers lose trust in brands and stop purchasing from them.
Fortunately, fake reviews can be easy to spot. Multiple reviews with the same wording, content that doesn’t match the product or grammatical errors and misspellings can all be giveaways. As can an overwhelming number of positive ratings and ratings.
Sadly, 45% of consumers fear fake reviews will become more common as AI is used more, leading to fake reviews and falsified claims about products. A similar number of consumers (45%) say they would trust websites more if they put measures into place to protect against content fully generated by AI.
Consumers don’t want AI to replace people but trust generative AI
Consumers see the benefits of AI and are interested in using it but do still want humans to be involved at least some of the time. In fact, while 53% trust generative AI to some extent, the same number (53%) do not trust websites that allow completely AI-generated content (only 16% do).
Fortunately, these trust levels go up when content is created by real people with the help of AI. Our survey showed that three-quarters (74%) say they might trust a review if the writer used an AI-powered coaching guide as help.
Nearly a quarter (23%) would be more likely to purchase from an e-commerce site that uses AI-powered review coaching to help shoppers create higher-quality reviews — 52% said having such a coaching guide wouldn’t make a difference in their purchasing decision.
Open to AI but cautious
Consumers are still cautious of AI even as it becomes more widespread. In fact, when being served an ad created using generative AI, just one-fifth (18%) feel positive about it, over half (58%) say they feel neutral, and a full quarter (24%) say they feel negative about it.
For chatbots, less than half (45%) of consumers trust an AI-generated answer they receive immediately. And of those, 32% say they would prefer an answer written by a human despite trusting the AI response.
When it comes to images, a fifth (22%) say they would trust videos or product photos on a brand or retailer’s website if they were generated with AI, and a similar number (21%) trust AI-generated videos or photos posted on social media.
Giving consumers what they want: AI
Interest in AI continues to grow and our research reflects this. Consumers see that using AI to write higher-quality reviews and receiving help to write this feedback may make them leave more reviews.
So, if consumers want increased review volume, quality and recency, and AI can provide that… why not give it to them?