Consumers are warming up to AI imagery, but only if retailers play by the rules

Consumers may be more cautious of AI-generated wellness influencers on Instagram touting misleading health advice, but that doesn’t mean they’re universally against the presence of AI in brand marketing.

A recent survey from Caimera, an AI platform for fashion visuals, revealed that 70% of consumers are actually “neutral or conditionally open” to the use of AI imagery, while 10% deemed it harmful.

But before you assume these figures represent a carte blanche, there are caveats. While shoppers are OK with AI being used for settings like enhancing backgrounds, lighting, or staging in photos, using it to modify “substance”—meaning fit, color, or efficacy—breaks trust.

It’s also why those surveyed were more open to AI imagery in products where “accuracy is easier to verify,” such as home and furniture (65%), and electronics and gadgets (60%), versus supplements and health products (41%) or beauty and skin care (35%).

Meanwhile, between two brands using AI, 79% of consumers are likely to trust the one that discloses it.

The survey included responses from 502 US consumers and additionally noted that 85% of users can’t reliably tell AI from real photos, while 75% want it disclosed.

The findings highlight that shoppers are clearly receptive to the incorporation of AI when it makes the shopping experience easier overall or simply enhances it.

A recent report by Collier, for instance, found that about half of consumers actually used AI for product recommendations, while 75% said AI “significantly influences” their shopping decisions.