Vendor reportProduct.ai, 14 Oct 2026

U.S. AI shoppers 55+ penalize hidden sponsorship 20+ points more than labeled; 25–34s react slightly the other way

Briefing creators

Age group	Extra trust lost (points)
All AI users	10.5
18 to 24	3.6
25 to 34	-5.2
35 to 44	12.7
45 to 54	15.6
55 to 64	22.9
65 or older	20.5

Extra trust lost from hidden vs labelled sponsorship disclosure, by age group

Reader Note:: Among 550 U.S. shoppers who used AI for product research in the past 90 days. Each value is the share who would trust an assistant less after discovering a hidden paid recommendation, minus the share who would trust it less over a clearly labeled one, in percentage points. All AI users +10.5; 18–24 +3.6; 25–34 −5.2; 35–44 +12.7; 45–54 +15.6; 55–64 +22.9; 65+ +20.5. Both scenarios are hypothetical. Each age band holds 73–118 AI users, so the report treats the split as directional. Self-reported online survey of U.S. adults (Aug 27 – Sep 1, 2026), unweighted; Product.ai sells verification products for commerce.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Survey of 1,493 U.S. adults who shop for products, online or in stores, from a general-population panel; unweighted with quotas on age, gender, and region. Trend comparisons use 1,247 online shoppers; AI-user findings mostly use 550 respondents who used AI for product research in the past 90 days.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Not for

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This was measured in one market. It may not hold where you are.
The two groups were not split at random — they picked their own side. The difference may have been there before anything was measured.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.

Saying the brand name out loud in sponsored creator content lifts branding by an average of 22 points in Kantar’s model

Branding in sponsored creator content: lift in branding percentile — Creator x Brand interaction elements (points)
Element	Lift in branding percentile (points)	Share of sponsored creator content featuring this element (%)
Brand name in audio	22	49%
Interaction with product	17	77%
Shopping activities in action	15	29%
Using the product	11	58%

Influencer briefs only include structured keyword strategy for both social and AI/LLM discoverability 13% of the time; most either provide only social search keywords or just general hashtags

Keyword and search guidance included in influencer briefs (% of marketers)
Guidance type	Share (%)
Keyword strategy for social search (TikTok, Instagram)	34%
General hashtag guidance but no structured keyword strategy	34%
Keyword strategy for both social search and AI/LLM discoverability	13%
Leave keyword and caption decisions to the influencer	9%
Have not considered search optimisation in influencer briefs	9%

70%

of U.S. consumers feel negative if an influencer fails to disclose being paid or given free product for promotion in February 2025

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0.75x

the conversion odds remained when sponsorship disclosure was present

Keyword and search strategy for influencer content ranks dead last in self-reported team capability, with a mean rank of 7.14 out of 8

Team capability by area, self-ranked from strongest to weakest (mean rank, 1-8)
Capability	Mean
#1 Influencer discovery and vetting	2.28
#2 Creative briefing	2.97
#3 Content review and quality control	3.86
#4 Consumer research and tribe identification	4.21
#5 Social listening and trend analysis	4.93

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94% of marketers plan to reuse creator content in paid social

Share of marketers planning to repurpose influencer content, by channel (%)
Channel	Share of respondents (%)
Paid Social	94%
Brand Organic Social	85%
Website, Landing Pages, or Product Pages	64%
Email	30%
Display	19%
CTV	13%
Out of Home	13%

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U.S. AI shoppers 55+ penalize hidden sponsorship 20+ points more than labeled; 25–34s react slightly the other way

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