In our 2025 Marketing Trends Guide, we explore how generative AI is reshaping the content marketing industry — both in how content is created and how it is received. And while authenticity has always been an essential element for connecting with audiences, it has only become more crucial as people increasingly ask themselves how “real” what they consume is. The line between what is created by humans and what is created by AI has never been blurrier, with audiences still learning how to distinguish between the two. So what does that mean for marketers also learning the landscape of this new world? We used our social listening and analytics platform to learn more about what consumers have to say about AI-generated content and how marketers can adjust.
How much are social media users talking about AI-generated content?
From January 15, 2024 to January 16, 2025, there was an average of 70 social media mentions every day from users detecting, speculating about, and/or sharing their opinions on AI-generated content.
Overall, the volume of mentions in the second half of that year-long period analyzed, from July 15, 2024 to January 16, 2025, was 27% higher than in the first half, suggesting that this conversation will only continue to grow.
How do consumers feel about AI-generated content?
Two occasions drove significant spikes in discussion over the past year:
- Kate Middleton released a video sharing her cancer diagnosis in March, which led to conspiracy theories spreading across social media about it being AI-generated.
- On September 4, a thread on X went viral with the fanbase of K-pop group P1Harmony. In the thread, the user goes into detail on why they suspect recently-released album teaser images were created with AI, which sparked a deluge of angry quote reposts criticizing the group’s management company for supposedly not hiring real artists.
The reactions in these and related social media conversations not only point to distrust in AI-generated content’s ability to inform and entertain, they also highlight the anxiety many consumers have around being able to tell if something is created by AI or a human being. As a result, positive mentions made up only about 16% of the overall conversation, compared to about 29% negative ones.
Takeaways for marketers
As we lay out in our 2025 Marketing Trends Guide, transparency around the use of AI will be key as audience familiarity with, and sensitivity to, AI-generated content continues to grow. Marketers and advertisers need to be crystal clear about when they are presenting AI-created content to audiences, highlighting when it is used as a tool for innovation rather than a shortcut past creativity. At the same time, there also seems to be an increasing need for organizations and brands to label when something is not AI-generated. Otherwise, in some cases, they risk accusations of misleading the public or not properly investing in creative talent.
Current trends suggest that as AI-made content proliferates, the premium on human-made content and creativity will only grow. This gives marketers new opportunities to give audiences peeks behind the scenes that can strengthen brand identity and trust. Think content like behind-the-scenes videos and captions that tag the creators and creatives behind a product or concept.
AI-generated content isn’t the only shift to be on the lookout for this year. Catch up on all of the trends that will take over the industry in our 2025 Marketing Trends Guide.
