The AI Trust Gap: Consumer Perceptions of AI-Powered Digital Marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in digital marketing to personalize communications, recommend products, and automate customer interactions. Despite these capabilities, consumer trust in AI-powered marketing remains uncertain. This exploratory study examines consumer perceptions of AI-driven digital marketing using survey data collected from 500 U.S. adults. Findings suggest that consumers generally recognize the usefulness of AI-powered marketing but remain cautious about whether organizations using AI act in consumers’ best interests. Respondents expressed concerns regarding privacy, data use, and organizational trustworthiness, while transparency and data security emerged as important trust-building factors. Moderate daily AI users (2–5 hours) reported higher levels of trust in companies employing AI-driven marketing practices than light users (<2 hours). Overall, the findings suggest that consumer acceptance of AI’s functional benefits does not necessarily translate into trust in organizations that deploy these technologies. Implications for marketing managers and directions for future research are discussed.