Consumers want authenticity

A new Emplifi survey says consumers still want brands to sound human, even as marketing teams add more artificial intelligence to social media and customer service. (prnewswire.com) Emplifi said its April 15, 2026 report, produced with Alchemer, surveyed more than 1,600 consumers about brand authenticity and artificial intelligence in social media marketing and customer care. The company said 93% of respondents linked authentic brand engagement with trust. (prnewswire.com) The finding lands as Emplifi pitches software that helps brands manage social publishing, analytics, commerce and care with artificial intelligence built into those workflows. In a separate 2026 social media marketing report, Emplifi said marketers were directing future artificial intelligence spending toward predictive analytics, customer insights and automated content creation. (prnewswire.com) (go.emplifi.io) Other research points in the same direction: Gartner said on March 16, 2026 that 50% of consumers would rather do business with brands that avoid generative artificial intelligence in consumer-facing content. Gartner’s survey of 1,539 United States consumers also found 61% frequently question whether everyday information is reliable and 68% often wonder whether what they see is real. (gartner.com) Social platforms have become a central place where consumers judge whether a brand sounds credible. Sprout Social said in its 2025 Index that social media had become the top source for keeping up with trends and cultural moments, ahead of television, family, friends and other digital channels. (sproutsocial.com) That puts pressure on marketers to automate without making posts, replies or ads look synthetic. Sprout Social said a third of consumers think brands jumping on viral trends is “embarrassing,” a sign that speed alone does not guarantee a positive reaction. (sproutsocial.com) Emplifi has been making that balance part of its own pitch. In December 2025, the company said artificial intelligence agents would reshape social media workflows in 2026, while framing “authentic content creation” as part of the same shift. (businesswire.com) The immediate takeaway from the new survey is narrower than the marketing hype around artificial intelligence: consumers may accept faster service and smarter targeting, but brands still have to earn trust in public, one post and one reply at a time. (prnewswire.com) (gartner.com)