With the rise of AI, video is evolving faster than ever, but audiences haven’t changed. Humans still want stories that feel human, and most think they can spot a bot.
Animoto surveyed more than 500 marketers & consumers to learn how you can balance trust, creativity, and AI innovation in 2026.
In an era where anyone can make a video with AI, audiences still crave what’s real.
AI can enhance storytelling as long as the brand still keeps a human touch. The key is balance: technology should support the message, not replace the genuine voice behind it.
Roya Safarian
In our State of Video webinar, we unpack the data behind what audiences want to see and how marketers are evolving to meet the moment.
Most consumers say they’ve watched videos they believe were AI-generated. Whether they’re right or not, perception matters, and those snap judgments have real impacts on how customers perceive your brand.
As AI continues to shape video creation, keeping content feeling real is what keeps audiences connected.
It’s not just you. We’re all on the lookout for AI-generated content, and more often than not, your customers know it when they see it.
The temptation to generate your troubles away is strong, and AI can help you scale up your video marketing efforts, but beware the diminishing returns of impersonal, paint-by-numbers content generation.
What are they looking for?
It's an entire set of signals, and most of all, it's a failure to fit into the real context in which the video should take place.
Olga Mirkovic
The brands that will succeed are those that use AI to streamline their creative process, not replace it altogether. Before sharing a video, be honest with yourself: Does it feel human?
Video is evolving faster than ever, but audiences haven’t changed: humans still want stories that feel human (and believe they can usually spot a bot).
Across the industry, consumers are signaling deep skepticism toward AI-generated content—especially when it lacks a human touch.
Together, these findings suggest a clear imperative: AI can enhance production, but human credibility drives connection.
With AI adoption skyrocketing, brands risk blending together if they hand over the reins. The marketers staying ahead are the ones who use AI to scale output without sacrificing identity.
Use your own footage. Apply your brand style. Infuse your tone. Marketers who follow these principles will stay authentic and win trust while still moving faster with AI.
You want your content to feel authentic. Some AI-generated videos have a look and feel that tells you it is AI. Videos are meant to be engaging and fresh. AI needs to be able to deliver on that for users and viewers.
Aaliyah Miller
AI is here, and it’s not going anywhere. That said, there are still red lines that marketers aren’t crossing. Marketers want the final say over their videos, and they’re not compromising on their branding, media, or voice.
The state of the industry
I use video because it’s the most powerful way to tell a story, share emotions, and connect with people.
Farrukh Kamran
Video continues to outperform every other medium, because it connects, converts, and sticks.
Action items
The future of video isn’t about replacing people with generative AI, it’s about using technology to amplify creativity, connection, and consistency. Even as marketers experiment with AI, the foundation of great marketing hasn’t changed. The data points to three clear imperatives for 2026 and beyond.
Audiences crave faces, voices, and stories that feel genuine. Whether you’re using AI for scripting, editing, or production, make sure your audience still sees you.
Posting consistently builds trust, but brevity keeps attention. Frequent, concise videos outperform sporadic long ones.
AI can speed up production, but brand personality can’t be automated. Use AI to accelerate the “how,” not define the “who.”
Video endures because it does what words or audio alone cannot. It moves, inspires, and connects.
AI is changing how creators and marketers bring those stories to life, streamlining production and expanding what’s possible. But it can’t replace the human perspective, the images, voices, and ideas that make a story feel real.
At Animoto, our goal has always been to make video creation simple and powerful for everyone. In the months ahead, we’ll introduce new AI tools to make that process even faster and more intuitive, so you can keep creating videos that connect.
To explore how video and AI are reshaping the way people create, share, and trust content, Animoto conducted a mixed-methods study of U.S. consumers and marketing professionals in September 2025.
The research included:
Together, these two data sets capture both sides of today’s video landscape—how marketers are adopting AI in their creative workflows and how consumers interpret the authenticity and trustworthiness of the videos they watch.
Why this approach matters
Unlike most industry surveys that examine only one side of the equation, this study compares creator intent with audience perception—revealing where expectations align and where they diverge.
