Roy Morgan surveyed 1,000 Australians in February and March 2026 and found that 72% are concerned about AI-generated advertising. The research, conducted in partnership with Ad Standards, paints a clear picture: consumers are not keeping pace with marketers' enthusiasm for AI creative tools.
The concern is not limited to deepfakes or obviously synthetic content. Australians are worried about the broader use of AI in advertising, from AI-generated copy to AI-created imagery and AI-optimised targeting. The worry spans age groups, though older demographics expressed stronger concerns.
Ad Standards is using the findings to inform how it approaches complaints about AI-generated advertising content. The self-regulatory body is tracking a rising volume of complaints related to AI in ads, though specific numbers have not been published yet.
The timing matters. Australian marketers are accelerating AI adoption for content production, with agencies reporting 30-50% time savings on creative workflows. But the consumers seeing that output are increasingly sceptical about whether AI-generated content is trustworthy, authentic or even honest.
Why it matters
There is a growing disconnect between marketing operations and consumer sentiment. Marketers see AI as an efficiency tool. Consumers see it as a trust issue. Both perspectives are valid, but only one of them determines whether your ads actually work.
Brand trust is the foundation that every other marketing metric sits on. If consumers are sceptical about AI-generated content, that scepticism creates friction at every touchpoint. Higher bounce rates on AI-generated landing pages. Lower engagement on AI-created social content. Reduced credibility on AI-written email campaigns.
Of Australians concerned about AI-generated advertising, according to Roy Morgan research in early 2026
The research does not mean you should stop using AI. It means you should be thoughtful about where and how you deploy it. There is a difference between using AI to speed up your production process and using AI to replace the human judgment and authenticity that consumers are looking for.
For Australian businesses, this is also a regulatory signal. Ad Standards is paying attention. The ACCC has flagged AI-generated content as an area of interest. Building your entire creative pipeline on AI without transparency measures is a risk that compounds over time.
What to do about it
Disclose when you use AI in your advertising. Transparency is not a weakness. Consumers are more forgiving of AI-generated content when they know about it upfront than when they feel deceived after the fact.
Use AI for production speed, not for replacing creative direction. Let AI handle the volume work (resizing, versioning, copy variations) while keeping human judgment on the strategic and creative decisions that define your brand.
Test consumer response to AI-generated versus human-created content in your own campaigns. The 72% headline is a national average. Your audience might be more or less sensitive depending on your industry and positioning.
Build an AI usage policy for your marketing team. Define what AI can touch (production, data analysis, draft copy) and what it should not (final creative approval, brand voice decisions, claims and endorsements). Document it. Review it quarterly.
Monitor Ad Standards developments. If the regulatory body starts issuing guidance on AI disclosure in advertising, you want to be ahead of it, not scrambling to comply.
