Advertising expectations and experience: Australians have their say about AI
New national research conducted by Roy Morgan for Ad Standards, Australia’s advertising regulator, reveals strong community concern about AI-generated content in advertising, with most Australians expecting disclosure and transparency as overall sentiment towards advertising softens slightly.
The second wave of Ad Standards’ Community Sentiment Tracker, conducted by Roy Morgan, found that almost three in four Australians (72%) are concerned about the use of AI‑generated content in advertising, particularly its potential to mislead or deceive people with unrealistic or fake content. Around half are also worried that the use of AI could reduce authenticity and creativity in advertising and promote unrealistic body or beauty standards.
Australians believe AI-generated content is already widely used in advertising, with more than half saying that it’s used very often (21%) or often (37%). Despite this, confidence in recognising AI‑generated content remains low, with one in five Australians say they are not at all confident they could identify when AI-generated content has been used in an ad.
This lack of confidence is reflected in strong expectations around transparency. Around two‑thirds (64%) of Australians believe it should always be necessary to disclose when advertising contains AI‑generated content.
Ad Standards Executive Director Greg Wallace said the findings reinforce the importance of responsibility, transparency and accountability as advertising technology evolves.
“Australians are telling us that as AI becomes more common, transparency and responsibility in advertising matter more than ever.”
“While there are currently no specific rules around AI‑generated content in advertising, being transparent about AI use may help build trust, meet community expectations and enhance brand perception.”
Beyond AI, the research shows a modest shift in broader community sentiment toward advertising.
Overall sentiment toward advertising has softened, with positive views steady but neutrality declining and negative sentiment slightly increasing. Trust in advertising is also relatively stable, although a modest rise in distrust has contributed to a slight decline in net trust.
At the same time, fewer Australians now believe advertising reflects community standards (34%, down from 37%), although a growing proportion were undecided (36%, up from 32%), suggesting increasing ambivalence rather than outright rejection.
Concern about children’s exposure to advertising has eased, including targeted advertising (down from 54% to 48%) and exposure to inappropriate content, (down from 58% to 51%), compared with the previous quarter.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine commented:
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping our world faster than most Australians ever imagined, and that change is impacting the advertising industry as much as any other. If advertisers want to maintain trust and community support, they need to be transparent about the use of AI-generated content.”
The quarterly Community Sentiment Tracker helps Ad Standards identify changing community expectations and emerging community concerns, including the rapid rise of AI, and supports effective, community-focused advertising regulation in Australia.
The Ad Standards-Roy Morgan Community Sentiment Tracker Survey was conducted online with a cross-section of 1,000 Australians aged 18+ between 19 February-2 March 2026.
Media enquiries:
media@adstandards.com.au
0418 668 497
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
About Ad Standards
Ad Standards is Australia’s advertising regulator. They give a voice to community concerns and promote responsible advertising. Ad Standards manages the independent complaints handling process for advertising in Australia, ensuring that advertising and marketing communications comply with the AANA Codes and the FCAI Code.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
