An advertising company is challenging consumers to pick its AI-generated ad out of a lineup, and so far participants aren’t up to the task.
The COOL Company is an advertising platform that offers customers fully AI-powered ad campaigns, from creation to activation and insights. To prove that its work holds up against ads made by humans, the company launched an online challenge pitting its own AI-generated ads against real ad photography, testing whether participants could discern the difference.
In its study of more than 500 consumers, only 17% of participants correctly identified the AI-generated imagery, meaning 83% were fooled by COOL’s ads.
At first, that stat looks damning, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Participants weren’t deciding between just two or three ads: There were ten ads to assess, and only one correct answer, meaning just one of the ads was AI-generated.
Take the challenge
Want to see whether you’re able to spot the AI-generated ad out of a lineup? The COOL AI Challenge is live on the company’s website.
If you’re feeling confident, you’re not alone. Half of participants in COOL’s study reported feeling confident they could identify AI-generated advertising, though their confidence fell after completing the challenge.
Shifting tides around AI ads
For its study, COOL also surveyed participants on their attitudes toward AI usage in advertising. Those responses showed that consumers care more about an ad’s content than how it’s made, with 73% of respondents saying an ad’s relevance is more important than whether it was created by a human or AI.
Consumers also sounded off on how a brand’s AI usage in advertising impacts their trust in that company. Nearly half of respondents (40%) said that knowing an ad was created by AI would lower their trust in a brand, while another 40% said it would have no impact on their trust. The remaining 20% said a brand using AI in its advertising would actually increase their trust in that company.
Additionally, nearly three out of four respondents (73%) said they believe AI-generated advertising is already indistinguishable from human-made creative, or that it will be within a year.
Zack Dugow, founder and CEO of the COOL Company, said in a press release that the challenge’s results reflect a cultural shift around AI use in marketing.
“As AI becomes more mainstream, the question is no longer what AI can create—it’s what value it can deliver,” Dugow said. “The opportunity is to use intelligence across creative, media, and measurement to make advertising work better for consumers and drive the ultimate performance for marketers.”