Americans Trust Less Than Half Of What They See Online, Survey Finds

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into daily digital experiences, a new survey suggests that trust in online content is rapidly eroding.

According to a recent Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, commissioned by World ID, the average American believes only 41% of the content they encounter online is accurate, fact-based, and created by a real human. In contrast, nearly a quarter of online content is viewed as intentionally false or misleading, while the remaining third falls into a gray area between truth and fabrication.

A striking 75% of respondents say they trust the internet less now than ever before, and 78% believe the ability to distinguish between real and artificial content has never been worse.

Part of the confusion stems from artificial intelligence. Americans estimate they come across AI-generated content an average of five times per week, with 15% encountering it more than 10 times. Social media posts (48%), news articles (34%), and chatbots (32%) were most frequently suspected of being AI-generated.

Despite these suspicions, only 31% of participants felt confident in their ability to identify whether a product or service review was written by a human or AI. When tested with a set of business reviews, only 30% correctly identified the human-authored ones, and two of the human-written examples ranked among the least believable.

This skepticism has real-world consequences. The survey found that 62% of respondents were less likely to support a business that uses bot-written reviews, 50% said the same about AI customer service representatives, and 49% were wary of AI-generated images. Nearly half (46%) reported purchasing a product that didnt match its advertisement, and of those, a quarter were unable to return the item.

Rebecca Hahn, Chief Communications Officer of Tools for Humanity, the company behind the World ID verification system, said the findings reveal a deepening crisis in digital trust.

“Trust in the internet hasn’t just declined — it’s collapsed under an avalanche of AI-generated noise. The internet has become a house of mirrors where 78% of Americans can no longer distinguish real from artificial,” Hahn said. “We offer an elegant solution: instant human verification without compromising privacy. No personal data, no tracking — just a simple proof that restores what’s been lost: trust in who we’re actually connecting with online.”

When asked about the most stressful situations for identifying AI vs. human interaction, 43% cited speaking to customer service representatives, followed by booking travel (23%) and transferring money via third-party apps (22%).

Most Americans appear ready for change: 82% said they believe companies should be legally required to disclose when AI is used in customer-facing communications, marketing, or website content.

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, Americans are looking for ways to reconnect with the human touch that once defined the web — and tools like World ID aim to bridge that divide.

“Being able to prove you’re human online is becoming as essential as having an email address was twenty years ago,” said Hahn. “Our survey shows Americans are desperate for tools that restore confidence in digital interactions. Were pioneering a new paradigm where human verification becomes a foundational layer of the internet — simple, secure, and universally accessible. This isn’t just about solving today’s trust crisis; it’s about building tomorrow’s internet where human-to-human connection remains at the heart of everything we do.”