Growing AI adoption doesn’t automatically bring growing trust. AI is becoming a bigger part of how consumers search, shop, connect, and make decisions. As its role across the customer journey expands, retailers and marketers need to know where consumers are comfortable relying on it, where skepticism remains, and how their own use of AI can strengthen or undermine the trust they’ve already earned. In a new EMARKETER guide titled "AI, authenticity, and the changing dynamics of consumer trust," our analysts and industry leaders give their perspectives on how AI is changing consumer trust, what puts that trust at risk, and what marketers can do to earn and maintain it.

Digital habits are converging across generations, but how consumers engage still varies by age. Video brings audiences together, while uneven AI adoption, shopping behaviors, and shifting priorities create new challenges for brands.

The agency alleges widespread overcharging, showing how price inaccuracies can quickly become a trust and regulatory problem.

Marketers and retailers face an ongoing challenge: showing stretched shoppers that they understand customer budgets without making their brands feel like a bargain bin.

Livestreams and physical stores give brands ways to build trust and loyalty beyond what algorithms can offer.

Marketers using its platforms risk losing consumer trust unless they scrutinize data-sharing practices.

Oversaturated health influencer promotions and AI deepfakes are making verified expertise and credible voices essential for marketers.

Building internally can protect customer data and secure the customer relationship.

The retailer denies cooperating with ICE, but the dispute risks distracting from improving sales and store investments.

Payment providers can earn loyalty by pairing agentic tools with education, safeguards, and guarantees.

Walmart and McDonald’s are drawing lines around dynamic pricing as consumers grow wary of how prices are set.

Security, transparency, and approvals can build trust before consumers hand over higher-value purchases.

Shop to Light turns digital labels into a tool for finding items, stocking shelves, and filling orders.

Shoppers rely on peer advice, rewarding brands that pair paid ads with authentic community engagement.

As shelf labels and AI tools advance, Walmart is promising shoppers that individual data will not set prices.

As chatbots influence purchases, brands should make authentic customer feedback central to GEO efforts.

Online marketplaces are taking a bigger share of ecommerce, but rising shopper expectations, tighter margins, and weaker customer relationships are reshaping the opportunity for brands and retailers.

Purchase limits and merchant rules could ease fears about handing shopping decisions to AI agents.

The format fits AI search naturally, but its similarity to organic answers could undermine brand trust.

SMS marketing is permission-based brand communication sent by text message, spanning promotional alerts, restock and shipping notifications, loyalty updates, and conversational two-way messaging. It sits alongside email as a core owned channel.