3 Min Read
Inside Our Cannes Research; The Algorithmic Aisle; Everyone Uses AI, Nobody Trusts It; Axios 100: The AI Culture Wars
(3-minute read) 4 stories, 1 thread: Reach is fast. Trust is slow.
- Inside our Cannes research: ‘I Never Asked for This’: 73% of consumers say AI is happening to them, not for them.
- The Algorithmic Aisle: 78% assume brands will pay their way into AI recommendations.
- Everyone uses AI, nobody trusts it: ChatGPT ranks 99th percentile on relevance – and 11th on trust.
- Axios 100: The AI Culture Wars: People are no longer judging AI on how clever it is. They’re now asking who benefits? And whose side is this company on?
Inside Our Cannes Lions Research: ‘I Never Asked for This’
At Cannes Lions this year, The Harris Poll presented new global research on uninvited AI in advertising. The verdict from consumers was blunt:
- 73% of global consumers agree that AI is happening to them, not for them.
- AI fatigue is measurable: 78% say a brand becomes cringey when it uses AI too much.
- And trust is already thin before a single AI ad runs – advertisers and marketers are the least trusted people at the table; only 37% of consumers trust them to tell the truth.
The top five things that would make consumers comfortable with AI advertising all come down to transparency and control.
Takeaway: Consumers aren’t asking brands to stop using AI. They’re asking to be told when it’s there.
Get the full Cannes Lions research
The Algorithmic Aisle: How AI Will Change What Consumers Buy
AI is becoming a new layer between shoppers and brands. Our latest CPG research maps where consumers will let it in – and where they won’t.
The sweet spot is assistance, not automation. 72% are comfortable with AI helping them shop, as long as they make the final decision.
But trust is fragile. 78% assume brands will try to pay their way into AI recommendations. And comfort drops sharply the closer AI gets to the body – from household care down to personal care and beauty.
Takeaway: Winning the algorithmic aisle means being visible, explainable, provable, and trusted before the shopper ever reaches the shelf.
Download the Algorithmic Aisle report
Everyone Uses AI. Nobody Trusts It Yet
AI is the most culturally relevant technology in America. It’s also among the least trusted.
HarrisQuest scores every major brand on two things that move independently: relevance (cultural pull) and trust (credibility). AI’s biggest names sit at opposite ends. ChatGPT ranks in the 99th percentile on relevance and the 11th on trust; Gemini sits at the 99th and the 21st.
The gap has a name: the exposure gap. Cultural presence arrives well ahead of the credibility to carry it. And familiarity isn’t closing it – Gen Z is the most familiar with AI of any age group, and trusts ChatGPT the least.
Takeaway: Relevance is quick. Trust is slow, and it’s earned one brand at a time.
Axios 100: The AI Culture Wars
The Axios Harris Poll 2026 data presents a striking picture of diverging consumer attitudes to AI.
Democrats are growing skeptical. They worry about job losses, economic disruption, and power concentrated in a few firms.
Republicans are more likely to trust AI companies. That’s shaped partly by an administration that frames AI as American competitiveness.
Takeaway: Americans aren’t asking companies to stop innovating. They want to know, in plain terms, what role they play in the story that AI is writing.
