Despite AI usage being on the rise, 40.4% of American respondents noted that their opinion of a brand would change for the worse if they knew it used AI to generate its content. This is compared to 49.5% who said their opinion wouldn’t change and just 10.1% who said it would improve.  

Young people on the other hand are less concerned about companies leaning on AI for content. A majority (50.3%) of readers aged 22 to 34 said AI would not impact their view of a brand, while 30.6% would think less highly and 19.1% would think more highly.

This is according to the 2025 AI In Content Marketing Report by Hookline& which surveyed 1,000 Americans to understand how actual human readers feel about the ongoing deluge of AI content.

In tandem, 82.1% of Americans can spot AI.  Among young people, the percentage of respondents who said they can tell at least some of the time when an article has been written by AI rises to 88.4%. Only 11.6% of young people said they can never spot AI content

It also found that experienced readers do not enjoy reading AI. Asked whether they enjoy reading content written by AI, 29.8% of respondents aged 45 to 65 — the group most likely to be decision-makers at companies — said no, compared to 27.1% who said yes and 43.1% who had no opinion.

Additionally, 50.1% of respondents — and 56.6% of older readers — would think less highly of a writer if they knew he or she used AI to create their content. Just 9.8% would think more highly. 

Saying that, although 12.6% of Americans believe it’s unacceptable for writers to use AI whatsoever — and just 22.8% say AI should write content — a majority of respondents were open to writers using the technology for brainstorming ideas, conducting research, editing, and data analysis. 12.6% of people believe writers should not use AI at all.