AI vs. Human Imagery in Advertising: Do Consumers Care?

Authors

• Belyn Thompson, St. Mary's UniversityFollow

Files

Contributor

Ma, Zecong (Faculty Mentor)

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Image creation, Advertising, Consumers, Digital Marketing, Student Scholarship

Description

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming digital marketing, with AI-generated images increasingly used in advertising and brand communication. While these visuals allow companies to reduce costs and experiment with creative ideas, it remains unclear how consumers perceive AI-generated content compared to human-created visuals. Advances in platforms such as DALL-E and Midjourney have made AI images more realistic and difficult to distinguish, raising questions about transparency and ethical disclosure in advertising. This study examines how AI-generated images and disclosure strategies influence consumer perceptions, including purchase intent, aesthetic appeal, and perceived realism across different product categories.

Format

pdf

Size

1 poster

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.