Nearly half of UK consumers say brands risk damaging their reputation by advertising alongside low-quality AI-generated content.
That’s according to new research from DoubleVerify, highlighting growing concerns over the impact of so-called ‘AI slop’ on brand trust.
Media Quality in the Age of AI
The company’s latest 2026 Global Insights: Media Quality in the Age of AI report found that 48% of UK consumers would think less of a brand if its advertising appeared next to poor-quality or spam-like AI-generated content, with 30% saying it would have a very negative impact on their perception of the brand.
The findings suggest advertisers face a growing challenge as AI-generated content proliferates across the web, with consumers becoming increasingly discerning about not only where brands advertise, but also the quality of AI-generated creative they produce themselves.
Across EMEA, 42% of consumers say they would feel negatively toward a brand after seeing its ads alongside low-quality or spam-like AI-generated content, compared with just 24% who would feel positively.
“AI slop isn’t just a threat to media quality; it’s a threat to brand equity,” said Stuart Flint, SVP, Managing Director, EMEA at DoubleVerify.
“As low-quality AI-generated content proliferates, advertisers need to know not only that they are reaching their desired audiences, but that their brands are appearing in environments that strengthen rather than undermine consumer trust.”
The quality of brands’ own AI-generated advertising matters, too. Across EMEA, 42% of consumers say they would feel negatively toward a brand that uses AI to create ads that look low-quality, uncanny or strange.
That figure rises to 49% among UK consumers, including nearly a third (32%) who say such advertising would have a very negative impact on their perception of the brand.
By comparison, only 29% of UK consumers respond negatively when AI-generated advertising looks polished and professional.
The findings suggest consumers are not rejecting the use of AI. Instead, quality is emerging as a dividing line in how they respond to brands using the technology.
Marketers are similarly weighing AI’s opportunities against its potential risks. Across EMEA, 46% of marketers are somewhat or very concerned about serving ads alongside low-quality generative AI content.
In the UK, that figure climbs to 61%, including 27% who are very concerned. Those concerns extend from where advertising appears to the ads themselves.
More than half (55%) of UK marketers are concerned about leveraging AI solutions to build ad copy or creative, compared with 44% across EMEA.
As AI platforms emerge as a new advertising channel, marketers are also approaching the opportunity with caution. Across EMEA, 47% of marketers are concerned about serving ads within AI platforms. That rises to 58% among UK marketers.
Among UK marketers, the leading factors that would make them more comfortable advertising within AI platforms include clear data privacy and compliance safeguards (39%), reliable measurement and attribution of ad performance (37%), the ability to review or approve AI-generated creative (35%), and verified brand suitability controls (33%).
UK consumers, however, are not universally opposed to advertising in these emerging environments.
Thirty-five% feel positively about ads being shown within AI platforms, compared with 26% who feel negatively.
Context also matters: when an ad is highly relevant to the conversation, 32% say it would positively impact their perception of the advertised brand, compared with 18% who say it would have a negative impact.
Together, the findings reinforce that consumers and marketers are responding less to the use of AI itself and more to the quality and context of how it is applied.
Globally, across the board it’s clear that transparency and trust are crucial in a media ecosystem being transformed by AI.