The news: 99% of marketing leaders aim to boost spending on AI tools in 2026, yet 70% of consumers say genAI ads are “missing their soul,” per a Canva-Harris Poll study of 1,415 marketers and 3,547 consumers in seven countries.

There are some nuances at play for consumers, however.

• 70% of Gen Zers and millennials said the “vibe” of an ad is more important than how it was made, and 69% said they’re OK with AI polish as long as real people are in the ad.
• 68% of consumers said they don’t mind AI ads as long as they’re relevant or helpful.
• At the other end of the spectrum, 87% said human touch is necessary for the best advertising, and 78% said even if AI made ads better, they still preferred ads be made by real people. 

Where marketers stand on AI:

• Nearly an equal share of marketers views creative agents as a “director,” (41%) or as a “collaborator” (39%), per Canva-Harris Poll. 
• 89% of marketers said they gain at least 4 hours weekly using automations. 
• But efficiency creates risk—41% of marketing leaders admit generic output or slop from automated workflows is a considerable challenge.

Marketers are chasing speed to meet industry pressure to produce more with less. Automated workflows can deliver that speed, but the faster teams produce, the more content starts to feel identical—reflecting the sameness problem enterprise adopters are facing.

Recommendations for marketers: Production speed is becoming a commodity in creative workflows, allowing almost any brand or agency to accelerate content production at scale. But caution is required.

• Although applying human oversight and ensuring differentiation in campaigns could add time to marketing workflows, that effort provides the necessary authenticity to drive attention.
• Consider designing for “vibe” to engage younger audience segments who value tone, texture, and cultural resonance over speed to market.

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