Gartner: 53% consumers distrust AI search summaries, creating brand opportunity

Over half of shoppers don't trust answers from AI search engines, worrying they might be wrong or unfair. Many people get frustrated with AI summaries and wish they could turn them off. This makes shoppers nervous, especially when deciding what to buy. However, brands can win trust by being open, showing real people, and making it easy for shoppers to talk to a human. When brands are honest and clear, people feel safer and are more likely to buy.

A recent Gartner report reveals that 53% of consumers distrust AI search summaries, highlighting a growing tension as AI reshapes the customer journey. With roughly half of all shoppers questioning the reliability of machine-generated answers, a significant risk - and opportunity - emerges for marketers. This article unpacks the data and provides a roadmap for turning consumer skepticism into brand loyalty through transparency, authority, and human-centric strategies.

According to a Retail Dive briefing, Gartner's survey of 377 consumers found that 53% lack confidence in the impartiality of AI-powered search. Furthermore, 41% find generative overviews more frustrating than traditional results, and 61% wish they could disable AI answers entirely. This skepticism is most pronounced during product evaluation, yet AI remains a key tool for discovery, with 70% of consumers using it to research new products and 62% for initial comparisons.

Gartner Report: Half of Consumers Distrust AI Search and Summaries, Opportunity for Brands to Build Trust

Consumer skepticism toward AI search summaries is primarily driven by concerns over accuracy, bias, and a lack of transparency. Many users report receiving answers that are missing important context or unfairly favor certain brands, leading to a general erosion of trust in machine-generated results during purchase decisions.

A broader YouGov survey reinforces this pattern, showing only 5% of U.S. adults deeply trust AI systems. The trust deficit is especially wide among older demographics, as 44% of Baby Boomers find it significantly harder to verify digital information. The primary drivers of this doubt include:

Inaccurate or incomplete AI answers (hallucinations)
Perceived bias toward specific brands or perspectives
Lack of visibility into data sources
Privacy concerns regarding personal data usage
The absence of human accountability for errors

Gartner advises brands to address these concerns directly. Noam Dorros, a marketing director analyst, recommends optimizing content for both traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to ensure authoritative snippets appear in AI overviews. As a Consumer Goods Technology report notes, a well-referenced FAQ provides search engines with structured data while signaling expertise to users.

Beyond technical tweaks, transparency and a human touch are critical. WSI World's 2025 trust framework advises brands to feature real employees in chatbot handoffs, openly discuss AI's limitations, and prioritize empathetic narratives over corporate perfection. Furthermore, founder-led thought leadership enhances perceived authority, as both algorithms and consumers associate expertise with a recognizable human face.

By combining these tactics with clear, consistent privacy disclosures, brands can effectively reverse the cycle of distrust. Research shows that when shoppers can easily identify authorship, find citations, and access human support, their confidence and willingness to make a purchase increase significantly.

Why do 53% of consumers distrust AI search summaries?

The top pain points are accuracy and bias. In Gartner's December 2024 survey of 377 shoppers, 35.8% said AI overviews "miss important context" and 31.5% received "biased or one-sided answers."
Add the fact that 88% of Americans now find it harder to tell what's real online, and every AI summary feels like a coin-toss.
Brands that openly acknowledge these limits - and show the human experts behind the content - immediately stand out from faceless algorithms.

Where in the purchase journey do AI summaries still help?

Discovery only.
70% of buyers start with search for new ideas, and AI snippets are useful for inspiration, but the moment they move to comparison or checkout, trust drops.
Gartner warns that perceived usefulness declines sharply after the first click, so optimizing for "zero-click" visibility (FAQ blocks, comparison tables, authoritative quotes) keeps your brand present when consumers pivot back to traditional results.

How can a brand turn distrust into a competitive edge?

Make transparency the product feature.
- Publish "trust briefs" - short, reference-packed answers that AI can scrape and shoppers can verify.
- Add visible authorship, date-stamped updates, and one-click source links.
- Offer a "toggle off" option on your own site; 61% of searchers wish they could disable AI summaries, so giving them control on your turf earns instant goodwill.

What content format earns both SEO and human trust?

Structured, dual-layer pages:
1. AI-friendly layer - bullet FAQ, schema markup, concise definitions.
2. Human-proof layer - long-form guide, expert video, downloadable checklist.
This hybrid approach satisfies Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) while reassuring visitors that a real specialist stands behind the summary.

Does generational divide change the playbook?

Slightly, but skepticism is universal.
Even among Gen Z, 43% mistrust AI systems versus 26% who trust them.
Baby Boomers are the most guarded - only 23% feel confident spotting AI scams.
The safe lane: lead with empathy, not jargon, and keep disclosure language plain enough for a 12-year-old; if older shoppers understand it, every other demo will too.