AI Not Exactly a Selling Point for Consumers

Touting a product’s AI capabilities may sound like a good idea to marketers, but it’s a buzzkill for many consumers.

A recent study by assistant professor Mesut Cicek and professor Dogan Gursoy at the Carson School of Business at Washington State University found that people were less likely to buy things if they were called “Artificial Intelligence.”

The study, published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, also found that how much people trusted the product played a significant role. If people didn’t trust the product, the word “Artificial Intelligence” made them even less likely to buy it. This was especially true for higher-risk items, like expensive or complicated products.

Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in Las Vegas, noted that a number of factors fuel consumer skepticism of AI-enabled products. “Consumers are often skeptical of AI in marketing because they fear privacy invasion, as AI can collect and analyze vast amounts of personal data,” he told CRM Buyer.

“Additionally,” he continued, “there’s concern that AI-driven recommendations might feel manipulative, prioritizing profit over genuine consumer needs.”

“Lastly,” Vena added, “many worry about the lack of transparency, unsure if AI truly understands their preferences or is simply promoting certain products.”

Bad Press Feeds Skepticism

A lack of contact with AI can contribute to skepticism toward it. “Most haven’t seen AI work, and many who have, haven’t realized they weren’t working with an AI, thinking they were talking, chatting online, or texting to a human,” said Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm, in Bend, Ore.

“People tend to be skeptical about solutions they don’t understand or haven’t seen work, and AI fits both of those reasons,” he told CRM Buyer.

How AI is treated in the media may also contribute to consumer skepticism. “I think, in general, consumers’ perception of AI is driven by the big picture perspective — what AI is doing to potential jobs, what AI might mean to copyright infringement, what AI might be doing to misinformation,” said Audrey Chee-Read, a principal analyst in the CMO practice at Forrester Research, a market research company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

“So we’re seeing a lot of AI as a bad actor,” she told CRM Buyer. “Especially in the last year, we’ve seen a lot of stories around how AI products are failing, not doing well, or not doing what they’re supposed to do.”

“The other thing is talking about what the actual value of the AI experience is versus just touting it as AI,” she added. “What are consumers actually getting out of it? What are the benefits of it? I think we’ve been so focused on the shiny object of AI that we haven’t really communicated what this AI product or experience is going to do for people. And that breeds distrust because it sounds like we’re touting the vehicle but not what the actual value or benefit is.”

Consumers may also be skeptical of ceding power to a non-human entity. “It feels strongly like AI is reducing your agency as a consumer when you’re told you will be, through no choice of your own, handled by a not only faceless but personality-less entity,” Micah Solomon, a customer experience consultant based in Seattle, told CRM Buyer.

Emotional Trust

The study also noted that “emotional trust” was a mediating factor when consumers encountered the term artificial intelligence. “Emotional trust is extremely important,” Solomon said. “It’s really the only kind of trust there is, other than logical trust. And we all know we’re not logical as consumers.”

“If a business doesn’t establish an emotional connection — or at least an emotional response — with a customer, then all they can hope for as a business is to be selling as the lowest-priced commodity,” he added.

The term artificial intelligence lacks an emotional connection for consumers, contended HP Newquist, executive director of The Relayer Group, a business consulting company in New York City, and author of “The Brain Makers: Genius, Ego & Greed In The Quest For Machines That Think.”

“The problem with AI is there is no emotional attachment to the concept, let alone to a product,” he told CRM Buyer. “When people hear AI, they either know, ‘Wow, this is going to be great,’ or ‘Wow, this is going to be scary,’ but they don’t have a relationship that is going to tell them one or the other.”

“As a catch-all term, AI doesn’t create any kind of resonance with consumers, whether at the retail or the corporate level,” he continued. “It’s a big term that doesn’t give them any specifics. Until we have specifics, really detailed product claims, consumers are not going to be able to build any kind of emotional attachment or relationship with AI.”

Jargon Is a Trust Killer

Vena maintained that emotional trust plays a crucial role in a consumer’s decision to buy a product. “It fosters a sense of reliability and connection with the brand,” he said.

“When consumers feel emotionally aligned with a company, they are more likely to believe in its values and authenticity, which strengthens loyalty,” he continued. “Trust built on emotions also reduces hesitation and doubt, making consumers more comfortable with their purchasing choices.”

“Ultimately, emotional trust helps bridge the gap between rational decision-making and personal sentiment, often leading to long-term brand commitment,” he added.

Language can also play a role in establishing trust. “My research found that one of the key drivers of customer loyalty is the use of plain language customers can understand,” observed Megan Burns, founder and principal of Experience Enterprises, a customer experience consulting firm in Boston.

“Jargon and techno-speak, AI-related or not, confuses and frustrates people,” she told CRM Buyer. “The story they tell themselves as a result is ‘this company doesn’t care whether I understand what’s going on or not.’ Even worse, they might think, ‘They are trying to pull something over on me.'”

“Feeling like a person or company cares and is looking out for your best interests is a key element of trust,” she continued. “You confuse me equals I trust you less. I think you’re trying to trick me or make spurious claims equals I trust you less.”

Meaningless Marketing

Trust may also be eroded by meaningless marketing. “Think about retail products like laundry detergent,” Newquist noted. “If you slap something on laundry detergent that says ‘new and improved,’ it doesn’t really mean anything. There’s nothing there. It’s not going to trigger any sense of comfort or impetus to buy on the part of the consumer.”

“If you say it makes clothes whiter and smell fresher,” he continued, “then you’ve given the consumer a reason to say, ‘Okay, I want those things when I clean my clothes.’ I don’t want just new and improved. I want something that’s going to tell me what the product does.”

“The problem we have with AI right now is that when you slap the label AI on things, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “It’s not telling consumers anything. What does it do? Is it going to make your work easier? Is it going to make your work faster? Is it going to make you smarter? Is it going to make you more efficient? Saying ‘AI added’ or ‘new and improved with AI’ does not give customers any reason to feel comfortable with purchasing the product.”