When AI Meets Advertising Creative: Attitudinal Effects of AI-Generation Disclosures for Copy and Visuals
Qingyuan Yang, Benjamin K. Johnson, Xinyi Zuo, Yuxuan Jin · Journal of Interactive Advertising · 2026
AI is widespread in advertising, but its use in creative work remains controversial. How consumers process AI disclosures in social media advertising remains under-examined, especially for AI-generated creative. This study explores the attitudinal effects of disclosing AI involvement in ad copy and visuals on Instagram through a 2 × 2 experiment (Copy: disclosure vs. none × Visual: disclosure vs. none). In Study 1, AI disclosure for ad copy reduced ad and brand attitudes through perceived transparency, while visual disclosure effects were limited. In Study 2 AI disclosure for ad visuals reduced attitudes when controlling for general AI attitudes, whereas transparency continued to mediate effects of AI disclosure for ad copy.