The new trust ecosystem
How confidence is assembled, not granted
Consumers don't just arrive at trust. They build it. A brand signal here, a creator recommendation there, a review that confirms what they already suspected. No single source gets them over the line alone. But some carry more weight than others.
Transparency beats everything else
Honest feedback and disclosed paid partnerships are the number one trust driver for creators globally, cited by 33% of consumers. They rank ahead of professional expertise (19%), personal relevance (17.5%) and brand alignment (14%).
Professional expertise from somebody with real credentials, say, a skincare recommendation from a qualified doctor or a product recommended by a tradesperson, ranks second behind transparency, a sign that authority influencers are overtaking aspiration influencers as the more trusted format.
Third is personal relevance. Consumers trust creators who seem to understand them, whose content reflects their own life, situation and interests rather than a lifestyle they're being sold.
Brand alignment with values and partnering with known brands both rank joint fourth at 14%. Brand association still matters. But it's a validation signal now, not a persuasion tool.
Why neutrality gives AI an edge
AI is perceived as neutral whereas creators, fairly or not, are assumed to have incentives. Both are perceptions rather than accurate measures of honesty, but perceptions shape how trust is weighted. But neutrality has limits: a quarter of consumers say they're not sure what makes any influencer trustworthy at all.
Of creators cite honest feedback and disclosed paid partnerships as the number one trust driver globally.
When it comes to purchase influence, AI tools outperform creators, 21% to 12%
Trust is distributed, not owned
Price comparison sites lead at 30%, but only just: brand and retailer advertising sits at 29% and customer review sites at 28%. Three different sources, two points apart. And trust skews local, with UK consumers ranking trust in a brand or retailer higher than any other market, at 31%, against just 19% in France.
AI forms part of the trust equation, one source of confidence among several. Consumers increasingly triangulate confidence across creators, comparison sites, reviews, publishers, marketplaces, AI tools and brand experiences before making a purchase. No single source consistently wins. Different signals perform different jobs, reinforcing one another until uncertainty is removed.
THE MISCONCEPTION
Trust is built by brands or influencers alone.
It isn't. Trust is built across a network of signals. No single channel can build it alone.
KEY TAKEAWAY FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS
Build for the moment of discovery, not just the moment of purchase.
For a growing segment they're the same moment. ChatGPT is now the go-to AI tool for 40% of consumers. If you're not visible there, you're already losing potential buyers.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Which touchpoints build the most trust for your customers?
Share your perspective on LinkedIn using #GetAWinWithAwin.
© 2026, AWIN Ltd. All rights reserved. Awin is part of Axel Springer Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.