New national research from the advertising regulator Ad Standards, reveals strong community concern about AI-generated content in advertising, with most Australians expecting disclosure and transparency as overall sentiment towards advertising softens slightly.
The second wave of Ad Standards’ Community Sentiment Tracker, conducted by Roy Morgan, found that almost three in four Australians (72%) are concerned about the use of AI‑generated content in advertising, particularly its potential to mislead or deceive people with unrealistic or fake content. Around half are also worried that the use of AI could reduce authenticity and creativity in advertising and promote unrealistic body or beauty standards.
Australians believe AI-generated content is already widely used in advertising, with more than half saying that it’s used very often (21%) or often (37%). Despite this, confidence in recognising AI‑generated content remains low, with one in five Australians not at all confident they could identify when AI-generated content has been used in an ad.
This lack of confidence is reflected in strong expectations around transparency. Around two thirds (64%) of Australians believe it should always be necessary to disclose when advertising contains AI‑generated content.
Ad Standards Executive Director Greg Wallace said the findings reinforce the importance of responsibility, transparency and accountability as advertising technology evolves.
“Australians are telling us that as AI becomes more common, transparency and responsibility in advertising matter more than ever.”
“While there are currently no specific rules around AI‑generated content disclosure in advertising, the advertising codes still apply. Being transparent about AI use may help build trust, meet community expectations and enhance brand perception.”
Beyond AI, the research shows a modest shift in broader community sentiment toward advertising.
Overall sentiment toward advertising has softened, with positive views steady but neutrality declining and negative sentiment slightly increasing. Trust in advertising is also relatively stable, although a modest rise in distrust has contributed to a slight decline in net trust.
At the same time, fewer Australians now believe advertising reflects community standards (34%, down from 37%), although a growing proportion were undecided (36%, up from 32%), suggesting increasing ambivalence rather than outright rejection.
Concern about children’s exposure to advertising has eased, including targeted advertising (down from 54% to 48%) and exposure to inappropriate content, (down from 58% to 51%), compared with the previous quarter.
The quarterly Community Sentiment Tracker helps Ad Standards identify changing expectations and emerging community concerns, including the rapid rise of AI, and supports effective, community-focused advertising regulation in Australia.
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