The artificial intelligence boom promised marketers infinite scale and hyper-personalization. Instead, it appears to be generating a wave of consumer exhaustion. According to a new Gartner survey, 49% of U.S. consumers agree that GenAI has actively worsened the quality of AI-generated content.
As brands use these tools to flood channels with automated messaging, they are inadvertently fostering an environment of AI-driven content skepticism. For marketing leaders, the challenge is no longer about generating enough content to fill a calendar. It is about preventing severe marketing fatigue before audiences tune out entirely.
Read More:
- Lean DTC Teams Are Struggling With Personalization, Not Technology
- AI Literacy Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage for Gen Z Founders on LinkedIn
- Why 78% of Martech Stacks Fail to Support Business Goals
The Volume vs. Value Disconnect
The Gartner survey, which polled 307 U.S. consumers, was presented at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo taking place June 8 to 10 in Denver. The findings paint a picture of an audience overwhelmed by digital noise but starved for meaning. The data shows that the frustration is even higher among younger demographics, with 57% of Gen Z and millennials agreeing that AI has degraded the media they consume.
Kate Muhl, VP Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice explained:
"AI-generated content is increasing the volume of media that consumers encounter, but not necessarily the value"
She added that "in a more skeptical media environment, brands need to be more recognizable, more credible and more intentional about the contexts in which they appear."
This relentless volume is colliding with a highly distracted consumer base. The Gartner survey found that 59% of U.S. consumers prefer to multitask across media, such as watching TV while texting or browsing the internet, rather than focusing on one activity.
Muhl highlighted what this means for marketers, stating:
"Consumer screen time may be abundant, but consumer attention is not"
Diving in further, she shared that "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."
AI is Changing Consumer Search Behavior
Beyond just content consumption, the Gartner data reveals that AI is fundamentally altering how consumers look for products. A separate Gartner survey of 328 U.S. consumers found that AI is shifting search habits. Twenty percent of consumers say their search inputs are more specific because of AI, 19% phrase search inputs as questions more frequently, and 17% rely on AI summaries to get product information.
"AI is changing the way consumers connect with content and where consumer attention lives," said 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."
Stay informed on the latest marketing & sales technology insights by following CX Today on LinkedIn!
The Operational Cause of Marketing Fatigue
The Gartner data clearly outlines the consumer reaction to AI content. The operational reality of why this is happening comes down to how brands are deploying the technology. In a recent CX Today interview exploring how brands can build trust in an AI driven world, Robin Emiliani, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Catalyst Marketing, provided context on why consumers are rejecting this new wave of content.
Emiliani argued that consumers are not rejecting marketing itself. They are rejecting irrelevance. She described AI as a multiplier that improves strong strategies but accelerates weak ones.
