Study: AI slop poses growing risk to brand trust
August 6, 2026



DoubleVerify (DV), th software platform to verify media quality, optimise ad performance and prove campaign outcomes, has released the EMEA edition of its 2026 Global Insights: Media Quality in the Age of AI report, examining consumer and marketer attitudes toward AI’s growing role in content and digital advertising, from low-quality AI content and AI-generated ad creative to advertising within AI chat experiences.

The research reveals a growing challenge for advertisers as AI-generated content proliferates across the internet. Across EMEA, 42 per cent 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 per cent who would feel positively. In the UK, concern is even more pronounced: 48 per cent of consumers say seeing a brand advertised alongside low-quality AI-generated content would negatively impact their perception of that brand, including 30 per cent who say it would have a very negative impact.


“AI slop isn’t just a threat to media quality; it’s a threat to brand equity,” said Stuart Flint as 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.”

Low-Quality AI Advertising Creates Another Brand Risk

The quality of brands’ own AI-generated advertising matters, too. Across EMEA, 42 per cent 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 per cent among UK consumers, including nearly a third (32 per cent) who say such advertising would have a very negative impact on their perception of the brand. By comparison, only 29 per cent 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.

UK Marketers Show Heightened Concern About AI Advertising

Marketers are similarly weighing AI’s opportunities against its potential risks. Across EMEA, 46 per cent of marketers are somewhat or very concerned about serving ads alongside low-quality generative AI content. In the UK, that figure climbs to 61 per cent, including 27 per cent who are very concerned.

Those concerns extend from where advertising appears to the ads themselves. More than half (55 per cent) of UK marketers are concerned about leveraging AI solutions to build ad copy or creative, compared with 44 per cent across EMEA.

Advertising Within AI Platforms Raises New Questions

As AI platforms emerge as a new advertising channel, marketers are also approaching the opportunity with caution. Across EMEA, 47 per cent of marketers are concerned about serving ads within AI platforms. That rises to 58 per cent 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 per cent), reliable measurement and attribution of ad performance (37 per cent), the ability to review or approve AI-generated creative (35 per cent), and verified brand suitability controls (33 per cent).

UK consumers, however, are not universally opposed to advertising in these emerging environments. Some 35 per cent feel positively about ads being shown within AI platforms, compared with 26 per cent who feel negatively. Context also matters: when an ad is highly relevant to the conversation, 32 per cent say it would positively impact their perception of the advertised brand, compared with 18 per cent 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, concluded DV.