53% of Consumers Distrust AI-Enabled Search Results: Gartner
Consumers are cautious about AI-enabled search results, with a recent Gartner study showing that 53% of consumers lack trust or confidence in their reliability and impartiality.
Surveying 377 U.S. consumers between June and July 2025, the study revealed that consumers want more control over their online search experience, especially by turning off AI summaries.
Forty-one percent of consumers expressed frustration with generative AI overviews, saying it makes the search process more complicated than traditional methods.
The survey further analyzed that while AI-enabled results are transforming search engines, their role in product research remains limited. Consumers are comfortable with AI summaries for initial product information, but find them less useful when comparing prices or deciding to make a purchase.
Also: Don't mistake rebranded chatbots for true agentic AI, Gartner warns
“Digital marketing strategies must evolve to not only optimize for these AI-enabled results, but also to reinforce brand trust through comprehensive and reliable information, recognizing that not all consumers embrace AI summaries equally," said Noam Dorros, director analyst in the Gartner marketing practice, in a statement.
Gartner believes that brands must enhance their reputation as a trusted source while optimizing content for visibility in AI-generated summaries.
“To do this, brands should pursue a multichannel discoverability strategy and maximize visibility by optimizing for both AI-powered overviews and traditional SEO, ensuring their content is structured, authoritative and relevant at every stage of the search journey,” said Dorros.
With AI being a highly popular innovation and businesses trying to understand its impact, Gartner recently released a study on AI agents, showing that 40% of enterprise applications plan to adopt them by the end of 2026, up from less than 5% today.
This indicates that companies are increasingly trusting AI to help streamline operations and support business growth and sales processes.
