Key stat: 63% of US adults say having ads in AI search results would make them trust those results less, according to a January survey from Ipsos.

Beyond the chart:

• The trust concern lands in a channel that's already shaping purchase decisions. Some 55% of US adults say AI-powered search partly, mainly, or exclusively helped them make a purchase in consumer electronics, per McKinsey.
• Meanwhile, consumer behavior doesn't entirely match consumer skepticism. Traffic from LLM platforms converts at 1.5 times the rate of other referral sources, per Criteo.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next AI search strategy or media planning meeting to show the credibility risk of ad placements in AI environments. Use the 63% figure to benchmark consumer skepticism, and pair it with your brand's AI search investment to frame where trust-building needs to come first.

Related reports:

• AI Commerce 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• Agentic Commerce and Payments 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from a February 2026 Ipsos survey as cited in company blog. 1,085 US adults ages 18+ were surveyed online during January 27-28, 2026, as part of Ipsos' ongoing Consumer Tracker survey series. The sample was targeted to be representative of the national population, based on the US Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey. The credibility interval for the full sample is +/-3.6 percentage points.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.