Excessive Use of AI in Advertising May Reduce Trust in Companies
Ad creators warn that overuse or misuse of artificial intelligence in advertising can spread misinformation and erode consumer trust. Human creativity and strategic thinking remain essential for producing quality advertisements.
As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly develops, it is increasingly used in the advertising industry. However, according to ad creators, excessive or improper use can lead to the spread of misinformation, which may deceive customers and damage a company's credibility.
Annicken Halbma, Executive Director of the Marketing Union, noted that around 80% of international companies already use AI in advertising to save time and money. She stressed that AI is just a tool, while humans remain the main authors of ads. "Human creativity, strategic vision, and the very measurement in marketing are critically important," Halbma emphasized.
Alvar Lõnks, Creative Director of advertising agency Tabasco, observed that AI makes work faster and smoother. "From an agency's perspective, it's easy for us to make sketches. Previously, we had to draw a lot, which took many working hours, but thanks to AI, creating sketches has become simpler," Lõnks said.
Nevertheless, Lõnks pointed out that AI lacks creative instinct, making it difficult to produce high-quality and original ads from start to finish. He added that AI will remain part of the advertising industry in the future, but it must be used honestly, without deceiving consumers. "People generally like ads that touch them, speak their language, or show familiar images. That's where authenticity plays a role," Lõnks noted.
Halbma identified the main problem as companies struggling to stand out in the market because AI-generated ads tend to be uniform. She also highlighted issues of misinformation spread and gaining customer trust. "Critical thinking regarding the use of AI in marketing is very, very important, including from our union's perspective. We definitely encourage people to think critically and consider the trust aspect. Initial global studies, in turn, show that people actually do not trust AI-made ads," Halbma said.
While both Halbma and Lõnks consider AI a useful tool for creating ads, they emphasize that human creativity remains at the core. "At the heart of the agency are creative people, not artificial intelligence. This human perspective is extremely important for us to create valuable marketing communication that truly resonates with people," Halbma stated.
Lõnks added that AI must be used creatively. "The approach where you just input one query, get a ready result, and immediately send it to print for a large poster doesn't work here," Lõnks said.
