79% of Americans saw ads that looked AI-made. Why does the face matter?

People are more open to AI helping make an ad than to AI inventing the person or voice selling the product.

You scroll past an ad with a polished image and a familiar-sounding voice. Maybe it is AI-made. Would that change how you feel about the company?

A 2026 Bentley University–Gallup survey found that 79% of U.S. adults had seen ads in the past 30 days that looked as if AI had made them. Nearly half (49%) viewed businesses’ use of AI in ads negatively; 19% viewed it positively. This records what people thought they saw, not an independent check of whether each ad actually used AI.

The line depends on what AI does. Three-quarters said it was acceptable for a business to disclose that AI helped employees brainstorm or draft an ad. A smaller majority accepted AI making the final ad text, images or video. But 62% said it was unacceptable for a business to use AI to create people or voices in an ad—even with disclosure.

That is a specific reaction to simulated people, not proof that every AI-made ad deceives viewers. The poll covers U.S. adults, and views may differ elsewhere. It also did not measure what happened to sales or whether AI disclosure changed trust in a real campaign.

If an ad says a real actor, doctor or creator endorses something, check that person’s own verified channel or the company’s official page before believing the claim. A realistic face or familiar voice is not enough to establish that the person took part. At the same time, an ad looking unusual is not proof it is AI-generated.

The dividing line: people may accept AI as a tool behind an ad and reject it as a substitute for a real person’s face or voice.

The survey reports U.S. adults’ perceptions and stated preferences; it did not verify whether the ads respondents saw were actually AI-generated.

Source: Bentley University–Gallup, Americans Aren’t Sold on Businesses Using AI in Advertising (2026).