Research finds AI disclosure labels have little impact on ad performance
Updated: Sep 1
As regulators and platforms push for clearer labelling of AI-generated advertising, new research offers reassurance to brands worried about the cost of transparency. A study by MediaScience found that disclosing the use of AI in an ad produced only small differences in outcomes — around a seven-percentage-point gap in brand recall and roughly five points in brand recognition.
In practical terms, that suggests being open about the use of AI does not meaningfully undermine a campaign's effectiveness. It is an important finding at a moment when a growing number of advertisers are experimenting with generative tools to produce images, video and copy, and when disclosure requirements are becoming more common across platforms and jurisdictions.
Lowering the barrier to adoption
For many marketers, fear of a consumer backlash has been one of the main reasons to stay quiet about AI in creative production. This research indicates that transparency and performance are not mutually exclusive — that audiences care far more about whether an ad is good than about how it was made.
That said, the detail still matters. Brands will want to test how disclosures are worded and where they appear, protecting hard-won trust as audiences grow more attuned to AI-generated content.
The transparency era arrives
The timing could hardly be more relevant. With regulators in the UK, EU and beyond moving towards mandatory labelling of AI-generated content, disclosure is fast shifting from a choice to an obligation. Evidence that it carries little performance penalty removes one of the last commercial objections to getting ahead of those rules — and to doing so voluntarily, before being forced to.
There is even an argument that transparency can work in a brand's favour. As audiences become more sophisticated about AI, clumsy attempts to hide its use risk looking evasive if they are later exposed. Brands that are matter-of-fact about how they use technology — treating it as just another tool in the creative process — may find that honesty builds credibility rather than eroding it.
The bigger lesson for marketers is to focus energy where it counts: on the quality of the idea and the craft of the execution, not on concealing the tools behind them. Used well, AI lets brands produce more, and more relevant, creative than ever before. This research suggests they can embrace that potential openly, without paying a price in the metrics that matter.
— Dimitro Cohen, Technology & Ad-Tech Correspondent at Marketing Minute
For marketers, the takeaway is that transparency and performance can coexist. Don't let fear of disclosure hold back sensible AI adoption — test how you label it, and lead with quality.
Would you openly disclose AI use in your advertising, or does it still feel like a commercial risk?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
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