A new report from Omnisend reveals that consumer trust in online product reviews remains high, with 84% of Americans trusting them, even as widespread skepticism grows around "AI slop" and algorithmically generated content.
Generative AI has enabled content production at an unprecedented scale but failed to scale consumer trust, according to searchenginejournal.com. This paradox marks a critical inflection point for brands: authentic human feedback, particularly verifiable product reviews, is now an increasingly valuable asset for establishing credibility and influencing the AI systems reshaping consumer product discovery.
What We Know So Far
- A January 2026 study from Omnisend found that 84% of Americans trust online product reviews, and 33% report trusting them more than they did two years ago.
- Despite this high trust, separate research from Capital One indicates that 82% of consumers encountered fake reviews in the past year, with an estimated 30% of all online reviews being "fake or ungenuine," as reported by digitalcommerce360.com.
- Consumer caution towards AI is significant, with 93% of U.S. consumers stating they double-check AI-generated recommendations before making a purchase, and 27% always verifying the information first.
- Generative AI systems themselves prioritize signals from real human experiences, relying heavily on online reviews, community forums, and social media conversations to formulate answers.
- In response to these trends, customer feedback platform Trustpilot has launched new tools designed to help companies optimize the collection and use of genuine customer reviews to guide decision-making and improve visibility within generative AI.
New Report: AI Content Skepticism vs. Review Trust
The Omnisend report highlights a complex landscape for marketers and consumers: while wary of artificial or unverified content, consumers lean heavily on the perceived authenticity of peer-to-peer reviews. This creates "a kind of loop where people are overwhelmingly skeptical of AI, yet still depend on content that AI can easily manipulate." This reliance persists even with acknowledged fraudulent feedback; Amazon, for instance, blocked over 275 million fake reviews in 2024 alone.
In an environment saturated with AI-generated text, consumers actively seek human validation, "naturally turning to other people for reassurance," as digitalcommerce360.com noted. This elevates the strategic importance of earned media and user-generated content. For brands, the challenge extends beyond generating positive reviews to fostering an ecosystem of trust where feedback is demonstrably authentic and transparent, thereby standing out from automated content.
The high percentage of consumers who double-check AI recommendations indicates that AI-powered search serves as a starting point for further research, not a final destination. This dynamic places a premium on platforms and processes that can verify and surface genuine customer experiences. Brands providing easily accessible, credible reviews are better positioned to convert AI-generated interest into actual sales.
Impact of AI on Content Trust and Consumer Behavior
Generative AI is fundamentally altering brand discovery and legitimacy. According to bestmediainfo.com, traditional search engine optimization (SEO) is giving way to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), where the primary goal is to be favorably cited and summarized by AI models. In this new paradigm, paid advertisements are excluded from AI-generated answers, making earned authority the sole currency for visibility.
This shift means AI systems act as a new intermediary, filtering and framing information before it reaches the user. "AI is completely reshaping how consumers discover and choose brands," stated research-live.com. To influence this powerful new layer, brands must feed it strong, consistent trust signals. Online reviews from platforms like Trustpilot, cited as a key source for models like ChatGPT, have become a primary input for these systems. For research-intensive sectors like finance, health, and travel, AI answers are already replacing direct website clicks, making a brand's reputation within these AI ecosystems critical.
Industry players are moving quickly to adapt. Trustpilot's new suite of tools, including an In-App Review Collector and an Invitation Optimiser, is explicitly designed to help businesses strengthen the signals AI systems prioritize. By optimizing the collection of authentic reviews, companies can more effectively build the "earned authority" necessary to be recommended by generative AI, turning a potential threat into a strategic advantage.
What Happens Next
The immediate future will likely see a rapid evolution in how brands measure and manage their online reputation. Trustpilot's introduction of new "AI Search metrics" signals a move toward quantifying how trust signals directly influence discovery in AI-driven channels. These analytics will provide businesses with a clearer roadmap for moving from "AI anxiety to AI control," by showing which inputs are most effective.
Marketers face a closing window to adapt their strategies. Some analysts suggest there is roughly a one-year period for brands to master Generative Engine Optimisation before it becomes a dominant and highly competitive force in digital marketing. This will require developing a new framework that closes the gap between the efficiency of AI content production and the critical need for audience trust.
Open questions remain about how consumers' trust models will evolve and whether AI platforms will develop more sophisticated methods for identifying and prioritizing genuinely authentic content over manipulated reviews. As brands and platforms race to adapt, the core tension between automated scale and human trust will continue to define the next phase of digital commerce.
