Gen Z and AI: Why Brands Must Tread Carefully

When it comes to AI, Gen Z isn’t exactly saying “OK boomer” to older generations’ concerns. Despite growing up surrounded by smart tech and digital everything, they’re surprisingly skeptical about artificial intelligence. This may come as a surprise to those who only think of Gen Z’s digital fluency, but as AI continues to explode into the mainstream, they’re questioning the trustworthiness of not only the technology, but the brands that are using it too.

Gen Zers are less favorable towards AI than millennials

Technological advances usually favor — and appeal to — the young. In other words, as new tech emerges, younger consumers are often the ones to embrace it before older generations come around. But when it comes to Gen Z and AI, this is not the case. Gen Zers have proven themselves to be a skeptical bunch, and that skepticism extends to the rapid proliferation of AI in today’s society. While the generation is more likely to feel positive than negative about AI in general, Gen Zers’ positivity pales in comparison to millennials’: they’re 9 points less likely to say they feel “very positive” about it than their older counterparts. (Our past research shows that millennials are the generation most likely to be AI super users, contributing to the cohort’s high trust in and positivity towards AI.)

The same is true when it comes to trust. Gen Zers are 11 points less likely than millennials to say they trust AI “a lot,” though they're more likely to say they trust it “some.” On both of these fronts, Gen Z is more positive towards AI than Gen Xers and boomers, but the difference between Gen Zers and millennials suggests that AI may not follow the same adoption curve as technology of the past. 

Gen Zers say they’ll walk away from a brand if they don’t trust its use of AI

What should concern brands is not just Gen Zers’ skepticism, but the fact that in many cases they’re more likely than other generations to change their shopping behavior when they lose faith in a particular brand. They are the most likely generation to say they’ve stopped shopping with a brand or business because they did not trust the company’s use of AI — 18% said they have done so in the past year. This is the highest for any generation, although the gap between Gen Zers and millennials is within the margin of error.

This underscores the fact that Gen Z shopping ethics are not simply hypothetical. A loss of trust stands to impact not just sentiment, but sales among this discerning generation. Brands must consider this in the context of rapid AI proliferation. The past few years have ushered in an explosion of AI usage across all sectors, and it’s impacting the way Gen Zers think about companies. When asked whether several changes in business, the economy and culture impacted their trust in business, 30% of Gen Z adults said larger and more widespread adoption of AI by companies made them trust businesses less. This is 11 points higher than the share of millennials who say the same, and also the factor most likely to negatively impact trust, again reinforcing Gen Zers’ AI skepticism.

Privacy and customer service are key to earning Gen Z trust

While there are certainly warning signs for brands when it comes to AI and Gen Z, eschewing the technology completely isn’t the answer to gaining trust. Only 12% of Gen Z adults say that a brand, not AI, is one of the most important factors in earning their trust. However, the elements that are most influential in earning Gen Zers’ trust do speak to best practices for brands that want to leverage AI.

The first is privacy: 44% of Gen Zers said that a brand or company respecting their privacy is a top factor in earning trust. Given the generation’s concerns about proper use of AI by companies, it will be imperative to approach an AI strategy with transparency and clarity, so consumers don’t have to worry about their privacy being breached.

The second factor is offering good customer service, which an equal share of Gen Zers labeled as important. While AI chatbots are currently used by brands to support some functions traditionally managed by an employee, this suggests that it’s crucial for companies not lean too far in the direction of automated responses at the expense of human support, particularly when it comes to Gen Z.

Ultimately, there’s no putting the AI toothpaste back into the tube. But brands can’t assume that Gen Zers will blindly accept technological advances simply given their relative youth and open-mindedness. Instead, they should focus on earning and keeping the trust of Gen Zers by marrying tech-forward innovations with transparency, empathy and service.