Advertisers use more AI, but worry about trust and quality

In short: Advertisers are using AI more to make ads faster and cheaper, but they are trying not to lose the human feel that many customers still expect.

What's going on

McDonald’s in the Netherlands released a Christmas ad made with AI in December, and it quickly drew criticism online. People called it “creepy” and said it looked poorly made, and McDonald’s took it down within days. The company later said it was a learning experience.

This is part of a wider shift. Marketing teams are adopting AI tools that can generate text, images, and video quickly (like having a fast draft machine for ads). The risk is that companies flood people with too much low quality material, which can make audiences tune out.

Some brands are already reacting to this. The Financial Times reports that Porsche and Polaroid have highlighted that their ad images are made by humans, a sign that “made by a person” can be a selling point.

AI is also changing how ads get made and measured. Analysts say it helps companies test many versions of an ad and automatically keep the ones that lead to clicks or sales. This tends to strengthen the biggest online ad platforms, and one estimate says Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft now take about 65 percent of all US ad spending.

What to watch

A bigger question is whether AI will change what advertising is for. Some marketers expect “agentic commerce,” where people ask AI assistants like ChatGPT to choose a product or book a hotel (like sending a personal shopper instead of browsing yourself). If that grows, brands may spend less effort grabbing your attention, and more effort trying to influence what the assistant recommends.

Source: Financial Times