The Impact of AI-Generated Marketing Imagery on Consumer Trust and Purchase Intentions: Examining Effect of Human-AI Assisted Images on Marketing

Abstract

The swift adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology into marketing operations has revolutionized the process of producing visual content for advertisements, bringing into focus the need to consider how consumers react to AI-generated ads in contrast to those created by humans. As much as the use of AI technology is associated with scalability and efficiency in content generation, issues such as authenticity, credibility, and the perception of effort can play a role in shaping consumer behavior. A factorial design experiment with two independent variables and one level of measurement was carried out with 214 subjects, including the manipulation of the creator’s type and the product category (fast food versus cosmetics/skincare). In the experiment, each subject was shown a single ad, which included a disclosure tag from the creator. The findings indicate a high human benefit. Advertisements made by people were rated with much better consumer trust (M = 5.63) than the advertisements made by AI (M = 4.24, p < 0 .001) and resulted in more purchase intention (M = 5.62 vs. 4.65, p < 0.001). The trust gap was partly addressed by hybrid advertisements (M = 5.08 vs. 4.24, p < 0.001) and not significantly addressed by purchase intent in comparison to AI-generated content (p > 0.05) which indicates that there is a gap between trust and purchase intention. The subsequent analysis indicates that the human-generated adverts were viewed as more real and laborious, and the AI-generated adverts were viewed as less real and needing less effort, with the hybrid adverts falling between the two. The study has provided significant contribution to the current body of knowledge in the field by going one step further than simply comparing human and AI-based approaches to the problem. From the manager’s perspective, the conclusions show that while AI makes creative work more efficient, it is extremely important to preserve human participation in order to maintain the level of customer trust. Nonetheless, increased levels of customer trust do not necessarily translate into purchase decisions being made.

Introduction

The text discusses how generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming marketing and advertising, especially in the creation of visual content. AI now enables companies to quickly generate large volumes of marketing materials, improving efficiency, creativity, and cost-effectiveness. However, this shift also raises concerns about consumer trust, authenticity, and perceived effort in AI-generated advertisements.

A key issue highlighted is that while AI can produce high-quality and scalable marketing visuals, consumers often view human-created content as more authentic and trustworthy. AI-generated ads may be seen as less genuine, even if they are visually effective. This creates a tension between efficiency and consumer perception in AI-driven marketing.

To address this, researchers are increasingly exploring human–AI collaboration, where AI supports human creativity rather than replacing it. This hybrid approach is expected to balance efficiency with authenticity, but there is still limited research on how consumers respond to such combined content compared to purely human or AI-generated ads.

The study described in the text aims to fill this gap by experimentally comparing consumer trust and purchase intention across three types of ad creation: human-generated, AI-generated, and human–AI assisted content, using different product categories (low- and high-involvement goods). It also examines how perceived authenticity and effort influence consumer responses.

Conclusion

The results show that human-made ads are still the most efficient way to gain maximum trust and purchase intention. Moreover, it is possible to consider Hybrid (Human & AI Assisted) methods as a good compromise because it greatly enhances trust as compared to ads created only by artificial intelligence. Therefore, it is important to be open about the fact that some people have worked on the advertisement while using artificial intelligence for more efficiency. Nonetheless, the results also confirm the fact that increasing trust might not be enough to encourage customers to make a purchase, indicating that other factors also influence purchase intention. Consequently, it is possible to conclude that artificial intelligence may be used in the process of creating advertisements; however, one should evaluate its efficiency first.

References

[1] Zhang, L., & Hur, J. D. (2025). The impact of generative AI images on consumer attitudes in advertising. Administrative Sciences, 15(10), 395. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15100395 [2] Modhavadiya, K., Ahuja, H. D., & Somani, H. (2025). The role of emotional advertising in shaping consumer buying intentions. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 5(7), 1–16. [3] Bigman, Y. E., & Gray, K. (2018). People are averse to machines making moral decisions. Cognition, 181, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.003 [4] Amos, C., & Zhang, L. (2024). Consumer reactions to perceived undisclosed generative AI usage in an online review context. Telematics and Informatics, Article 102163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2024.10216 [5] Ku?inskas, G., & Survilaite, E. (2025). Revealing AI involvement in ad creation: Effects on authenticity, brand perceptions and consumer intentions. Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management, 10(16), 727–740. [6] Huang, M., & Katona, Z. (2025). Consumer evaluation and visual attribution of realistic AI-generated advertisements (SSRN Working Paper No. 5366745). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5366745 [7] Feuerriegel, S., Hartmann, J., Janiesch, C., & Zschech, P. (2024). Generative AI. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 66, 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-023-00834-7 [8] Hartmann, J., Exner, Y., & Domdey, S. (2025). The power of generative marketing: Can generative AI create superhuman visual marketing content? International Journal of Research in Marketing, 42(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.09.00 [9] Widjaja, A. F. (2025). Factors influencing purchase intention in e-commerce: An analysis of brand image, product quality, and price. JUMDER: Jurnal Bisnis Digital dan Ekonomi Kreatif, 1(3), 32–47. [10] Shi, W., Li, L., Zhang, Z., Li, M., & Li, J. (2025). Research on driving factors of consumer purchase intention of artificial intelligence creative products based on user behavior. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 17400. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-01258-x [11] Offermans, M. N., & de Rooij, A. (2025). The impact of influencer type (human vs. virtual) on trustworthiness, similarity identification, and purchase intention in video-based marketing: The moderating role of AI literacy. [12] Devi, H., & Uniyal, A. K. (2026). The impact of AI-enhanced brand image on consumer purchase intention: A comparative study. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 3365, No. 1, p. 030024). AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0200000 [13] Sipos, D. (2025). The effects of AI-powered personalization on consumer trust, satisfaction, and purchase intent. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 3(2), 14–24. https://doi.org/10.59324/ejaset.2025.3(2).02 [14] Brüns, J. D., & Meißner, M. (2024). Do you create your content yourself? Using generative artificial intelligence for social media content creation diminishes perceived brand authenticity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103790 [15] Yin, J., & Qiu, X. (2021). AI technology and online purchase intention: Structural equation model based on perceived value. Sustainability, 13(10), 5671. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105671 [16] Magni, F., Park, J., & Chao, M. M. (2024). Humans as creativity gatekeepers: Are we biased against AI creativity? Journal of Business and Psychology, 39(3), 643–656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09910-x [17] Liu, Q., Osman, L. H., Lian, Z., Wel, C. A. C., & Hamid, S. N. A. (2025). From perception to purchase: How AI literacy shapes consumer decisions in AI-generated sponsored vlogs across products and services. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 20(4), 302. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20040302

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Rushikesh Lahane, Mahek Ahuja, Mehak Sharma, Amrita , Dr. Atif Javed Qazi. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.