With AI backlash building, marketers reconsider their approach
By Kimeko McCoy • February 12, 2026 •
Ivy Liu
If this year’s Super Bowl commercials made one thing clear, it’s that companies are still trying to sell Americans on AI. As public sentiment wanes, however, brands are recalibrating how they position themselves in the era of AI.
There’s a mounting distrust, and the numbers prove it. While 82% of ad execs feel Gen Z and millennials feel positively about AI-generated ads, only 45% of those consumers actually feel that way, according to recent research from the IAB and Sonata Insights, a custom research and advisory service. That gap has only widened since the 2024 study.
The growing trust deficit
Some brands are taking notice that technology now carries emotional weight, signaling messages about ethics, morals and trust. Even brands that aren’t offering AI services are careful about campaign language, brand voice and positioning around AI usage.
Take, for example, He Gets Us, the Christian nonprofit organization that has become a Super Bowl regular. This year’s spot was intentionally shot on film and featured real people, according to Simon Armour, chief creative officer at Come Near, the creative team behind He Gets Us.
“Even the use of film, and therefore not using AI, we want it to feel as human as possible,” Armour said. “We want the connection to feel real. Particularly in a very digital world, we want that warmth.”
For Come Near and other brands, the approach has to be nuanced. Advertisers are convinced AI is a tool that promises faster and cheaper creative. Eliminating it, or even taking a strong stance against it, isn’t an option.
Re-centering human agency
It’s not even that AI-produced spots are guaranteed to flop. Only 21% of people say they’d like an ad campaign less if they found out it was AI-generated, according to VML Intelligence. Some AI-generated ads are now said to perform at the same level as human-made creative, according to a recent study from Taboola in collaboration with researchers at Columbia University, Harvard University, Technical University of Munich, and Carnegie Mellon University. AI ads had an average click-through rate of .76% in comparison to the .65% of human ads, according to the study.
Even disclosing if AI was used in an ad is helpful, per the IAB’s reporting. About 73% of Gen Z and millennials say clear disclosure would either “increase or have no impact on their likelihood to purchase the product or service,” according to the report.
Brands like Aerie and Dove have vowed to not use AI in ads. Meanwhile, brands like He Gets Us have taken a more subtle approach. There’s the He Gets Us Super Bowl spot shot on film, and Porsche’s hand drawn holiday campaign last year, produced by Parallel Studio, an animation team. Panda Express rolled out a human-made animated short celebrating Lunar New Year alongside Passion Pictures, an entertainment company specializing in animation and documentary work.
Finding a nuanced approach
Advertisers are using generative AI for everything from customer insights to content creation. Even if AI was not used to produce the final spot, it was likely used somewhere along the way. It raises questions as to whether a brand that postures itself as being anti-AI is actually, said Justin Booth-Clibborn, co-managing director and executive producer at Passion.
“That’s a very dangerous thing for a brand to do because if you scratch below the surface, AI is being used everywhere,” Booth-Clibborn, adding that the agency uses generative AI tools for client work.
It’s not that the AI hype train has come to a stop. But as the tech struggles to gain trust, brands are pulling back on AI messaging.
There’s even been a shift from an RFP perspective, according to Atlantic NY, an independent creative agency. RFPs that once required that the agency use AI for work now appear more thoughtful about implementation — especially in light of public backlash. (Think Coca-Cola’s holiday ads or McDonald’s now-removed AI-generated Christmas advertisement in the Netherlands.)
Backlash to AI slop and jobs
AI has sparked concerns around job security, data privacy, environmental impacts, surveillance culture and so-called AI slop. Seeing AI in an advertisement surfaces those feelings in consumers, said Marco Pupo, co-founder and chief creative officer, at Atlantic.
“You’re trying to cut costs, you’re trying to cut your head count, and you’re trying to be more profitable at any cost. That’s what makes people [say], ‘Hey, I don’t want this’,” Pupo said.
Increasingly, brands are distancing themselves from AI in their campaigns, according to Gartner analysts. By next year, “20% of brands will lean into positioning and differentiation based on the absence of AI in their business and products,” according to a survey.
The trend is reminiscent of the #nofilter era of social media, where there was a cultural shift toward realistic, unedited photos as opposed to overly curated and polished aesthetics.
“A few years from now, it’s going to be the same as a brand saying we don’t use Photoshop in our ads,” said Pupo. “Use it, but use it in a good sense.”
