Behind the Numbers: Public Opinion on AI-Made Media – What’s Acceptable, What Crosses the Line

Podcast: Behind the Numbers: an EMARKETER Podcast
Date: September 8, 2025
Hosts: Marcus (B), Max Williams (A), Senior Analyst, Digital Advertising & Media

Episode Overview

This episode delves into how Americans perceive generative AI (Gen AI)–created media. EMARKETER’s Marcus and senior analyst Max Williams break down recent survey insights, public sentiment trends, and the paradoxical relationship between distrust and adoption of AI-made content. They also discuss how these dynamics play out across different types of media—news, editorial, creative, and advertising.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Gen AI-Made Media & Initial Sentiment

• Ambiguity in Definition:
  Max notes that public perception surveys rarely specify how much of content is AI-made, leading to broad interpretations from fully AI-generated images to mildly AI-enhanced media.

  "It could mean...a complete soup to nuts, mid journey generated image...something that's been tuned up with AI. They don't get into it." (A, 03:14)

• Dominant Attitude: Skepticism:
  Americans are increasingly nervous and pessimistic about AI’s effect on media.
  • Terms like “fake” or “not real art” far outstrip positives like “innovative.”
  • The trend toward negative descrpitors is strengthening over time.

  “Americans are much more likely to choose descriptors like fake or not real art than they are to choose descriptors like innovative or groundbreaking.” (A, 03:51)

  • Between 2023 and 2025, negative descriptors have risen; positive ones have dropped. (B, 04:59)

2. Transparency: A Potential Antidote

• Disclosure Matters:
  A significant majority (8 in 10) Americans want explicit labels when Gen AI has been used in content.

  “People just want to know you're using it...If they find out later, they feel dupes and they're kind of mad at you.” (B, 06:19)

  • When disclosed, consumers are more tolerant.
  • Social media’s “AI detector” culture is strengthening, where viewers frequently call out AI-generated or AI-aided content (A, 06:46).
• Consistency Across News Formats:
  A 2–3:1 majority are uncomfortable with Gen AI in any news format, whether image, video, writing, audio, or social (B, 07:31).

3. The Public–Expert Divide on AI Sentiment

• Widespread Concern:
  • 51% of US adults are more concerned than excited about Gen AI; only 11% are more excited (B, 08:23).
  • AI experts are far more positive (47% excited, 15% concerned – Pew Research).
• Is the Gap Closing or Growing?
  • Max expects divergence to depend on context:
    • Use in shopping or day-to-day support may soften attitudes.
    • Uses impacting the economy or employment may widen the concern gap.

    “You could see the gap actually widening on an area like the economy...” (A, 09:10)

  • The “C-suite versus rank-and-file” paradox emerges (A, 10:43).

Memorable Analogy:

“Some Bay Area guy who says, don't you worry, pretty soon we're going to have UBI and AI is going to do all the work for us... then you talk to somebody who's like, my cousin's a copywriter and he's scared out of his ever-loving mind..." (A, 09:51)

4. The Trust–Usage Paradox

• Trust is Low, Usage Climbs:
  • 2/3 of Americans trust AI-generated news less than human-made news (YouGov data, B, 12:23).
  • Adoption and usage rising: 39% of American internet users deploy generative AI today; forecasted to be nearly 50% by 2029.
  • Max: Even as people find search engines/AIs less useful, they still use them because of convenience:

    “Most recently...Vox Media published a survey that found that 42% of respondents said that they thought that search engines...were just getting less useful, but that doesn't mean that people stop using search engines.” (A, 13:57)

5. Fluidity of Public Opinion

• Changing Attitudes Over Time:
  Max’s presentations found that AI sentiment data “moved a lot”—sometimes even flipping on specific use cases between months (A, 15:49).
  • Equal portions of public and experts (38%) say they feel both excited and concerned (B, 15:05).

6. Hopeful Use Cases — and Reality Checks

• No Optimistic Area in Media:
  Max couldn’t find areas of news or media with clear optimism among the public (A, 17:10).
• A “Brilliant” But Unlikely Use:
  • Hypothetical: AI could moderate social media discourse—flagging or warning about misinformation in real-time (A, 17:37).
  • Reality: Such tools are unlikely to be deployed because they conflict with platform engagement goals (A, 18:30).

7. Gen AI in Advertising: An Exception?

• Surprisingly Tolerant of AI in Ads:
  • Despite backlash against some high-profile fully-AI ads (e.g., Coca-Cola, Toys ‘R’ Us, Mango), survey data shows less hostility to AI in advertising than editorial or artistic media.

  "Advertising seems to be regarded differently... the negativity does not seem to apply to ads." (B, 19:06)

  • Possible reason: Ads are seen as transactional, not purely creative or editorial (A, 19:57).
  • However, "like it more" is still a minority: 44% (A, 21:18).

    “If you're being really kind of cold blooded, we're still talking about, you know, a majority not saying or not selecting the 'I like it more' choice... But the fact that it's even that high still kind of shocks me.” (A, 21:18)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Negative Trend in Perceptions:

  "Americans are much more likely to choose descriptors like fake or not real art than they are to choose descriptors like innovative or groundbreaking." — Max (A), 03:51

• On Transparency & Disclosure:

  "People just want to know you're using it. That's right. If they find out later, they feel dupes and they're kind of mad at you." — Marcus (B), 06:19

• On the Public–Expert Gap:

  “You could see the gap actually widening on an area like the economy...where you've got maybe the C suite saying AI is fantastic...and then you have the maybe more working rank and file people going this is making my life a nightmare.” — Max (A), 09:10

• On Adoption Despite Distrust:

  “…even the most kind of, you know, under informed person is kind of broadly aware...these things make stuff up...but if you're trying to get your arms around something...one five minute conversation with a chatbot will get you 60% of the way...that's enough reason to kind of pop it open and query it on a regular basis.” — Max (A), 13:57

• On Advertising’s Exemption:

  “Advertising seems to be regarded differently from editorial or artistic content...negativity does not seem to apply to ads.” — Marcus (B), 19:06

• On the Perennial Fluidity:

  “There’s an immense amount of fluidity in play here. So that’s very important to keep in mind.” — Max (A), 15:49

Timestamps for Main Segments

• [03:14] What does Gen AI-made media include?
• [04:59] Americans’ shifting (mostly negative) descriptions for AI-made media
• [06:19] Importance of disclosure/transparency
• [07:31] Public discomfort with Gen AI across all news formats
• [08:34] Public–Expert sentiment gap; how it may evolve
• [11:53] Excitement vs. concern by context—medical vs. economy, stock trading
• [12:23] The paradox: Trust is low, but usage is climbing
• [13:57] Why people use tech they distrust
• [15:49] Shifting attitudes over time; importance of recent research
• [17:10] No clearly optimistic area in news/media for AI
• [17:37] Hypothetical AI as a force for healthier online discourse
• [19:06] Advertising: Why it’s not subject to the same negativity
• [21:18] The minority who actually “like” AI advertising

Memorable Moments

• Dry Humor & Real Talk:

  “That’s Russian life in a nutshell right there. You're locked in. Stuck it up.” — Max (A), 02:34

• Host Banter: Comments comparing the Trans-Siberian Railway to Nebraska for a week, setting an informal, playful tone (01:43).

Conclusion

Key Takeaways:

• Americans are increasingly skeptical of AI-made media, particularly in creative and news domains.
• Transparency moderates skepticism, but even then, trust lags.
• Attitudes among public and experts are starkly different, with growing potential for tension especially around economic impact.
• Usage of Gen AI tools continues to rise despite trust issues.
• AI in advertising is received with more tolerance than in editorial or artistic media, possibly due to differing intentions and expectations.
• The landscape is fluid—attitudes, applications, and public opinion are shifting rapidly.

For marketers and media professionals:
Stay alert to public sentiment, emphasize transparency, and recognize that the context of AI usage deeply colors acceptance.

Max Williams’ full report, “How Consumers Perceive Gen AI in Media,” is available for Pro Plus subscribers via EMARKETER.