Forty-nine percent of US consumers agree that GenAI has made the quality of content available worse, according to a new survey by Gartner, with this rising to 57% among younger consumers including Gen Z and millennials.
A Gartner survey of 307 US consumers conducted in March 2026 found that AI is contributing to a more skeptical media environment – raising the stakes for brands to create recognisable, credible, and high-quality content.
“AI-generated content is increasing the volume of media that consumers encounter, but not necessarily the value,” says Kate Muhl, VP analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “In a more skeptical media environment, brands need to be more recognisable, more credible, and more intentional about the contexts in which they appear.”
The survey also found that 59% of US consumers prefer to do several media or technology activities at the same time – such as watching TV, using the Internet, or texting on a phone – rather than focusing on one activity at a time.
“Consumer screen time may be abundant, but consumer attention is not,” says Muhl. “For marketers, the goal is no longer simply to buy reach or chase impressions. Media strategy must compete for scarce attention and create brand meaning quickly enough to survive fragmented, fast-moving environments.”
A Gartner survey of 328 US consumers conducted in February 2026 found that AI is beginning to change how consumers build searches for products and services. Twenty percent of US consumers say their search inputs are more specific because of AI; 19% phrase search inputs as questions more frequently; 17% rely on AI summaries to get information for products or services they are looking for; and 16% use AI chatbots to search for new products or services to buy.
“AI is changing the way consumers connect with content and where consumer attention lives,” says Muhl. “CMOs should not treat AI as a replacement for media fundamentals. The brands that win will be those that understand where attention is gathering, how trust is being formed, and what kinds of experiences consumers want to remember.”