User-generated content (UGC) is now the most trusted format among Americans discovering small businesses on social media, while nearly half of consumers view artificial intelligence-generated content as a trust liability, according to new survey data that challenges current marketing automation trends.
Signs.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers regarding their social media habits, with responses stratified by age, gender, and other demographic characteristics.
According to the research, 31% of consumers identified UGC as the content type they trust most, the highest percentage overall. Brand-created visuals accounted for 27%, followed by influencer shout-outs or reviews at 20%.
The trust hierarchy varied significantly by generation. Gen X (33%) and boomers (31%) showed the strongest preferences for user-generated content compared to younger demographics. Gen Z demonstrated notably different patterns, with 30% citing influencer content as the most trustworthy, compared with just 4% of boomers.
Twenty-nine percent of Gen Z respondents trusted unboxing or haul videos, the highest among all age groups. Millennials leaned toward brand-created videos (30%) and behind-the-scenes content (21%).
AI Content Triggers Widespread Trust Concerns
Forty-eight percent of respondents reported that AI-generated content made a post feel less trustworthy, the most common concern overall. Skepticism intensified among younger groups, with 64% of Gen Z viewing AI-generated content negatively.
Stock photos raised red flags for 41% of respondents, while posts omitting pricing or key details concerned 38%, as did overly polished visuals. The data suggests production quality alone doesn’t build trust without transparency.
Gen Z expressed the most substantial skepticism toward both AI-generated content (64%) and stock imagery (50%). Gen X and boomers were more concerned about missing product information, with 43% of each group citing it as a concern.
Boomers showed the least responsiveness to turned-off comments (46%) and paid partnership labels (36%) compared to other age groups.
Customer Testimonials Drive Attention and Conversion
Customer testimonials demonstrated dual effectiveness: they both captured initial attention and drove purchase decisions. Thirty-five percent of respondents reported watching customer testimonials for at least 10 seconds, the highest percentage for any content type. Personal stories held attention for 31%, followed by funny or relatable hooks at 29%.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) spend 10 seconds or less on a small-business post before scrolling past, underscoring the critical importance of initial engagement.
Gen Z showed the highest engagement with humorous hooks (37%) and eye-catching visuals (33%), whereas millennials showed similar levels of interest. Gen X and boomers preferred practical formats, such as before-and-after posts, whereas customer reviews consistently held attention across all generations.
Respondents reported skipping AI-generated or automated content most frequently (29%), followed by posts about social or political topics (22%) and trending audio or format-driven posts (19%).
Reviews Dominate Purchase Influence
Fifty-two percent of respondents identified customer testimonials or reviews as the most likely content type to influence a purchase, reinforcing their effectiveness throughout the customer journey. Product demos or tutorials followed at 43%.
The influence of testimonials remained relatively consistent across age groups. Millennials showed the strongest response at 52%, while other generations also rated reviews highly.
Gen X demonstrated the strongest response to product demos, with 50% saying these posts influenced their decisions. Boomers gave above-average weight to demos (41%) and behind-the-scenes or origin story content (26%).
Thirty percent of Gen Z said trend-driven content, such as “TikTok Made Me Buy It” or GRWM-style (Get Ready With Me) posts, persuaded them to purchase. The same percentage cited before-and-after content as influential. Millennials responded to giveaways or promotions (28%) as a secondary influence factor.
Overall, 59% of respondents reported purchasing from a small business because of social media content.
Platform Discovery Patterns
Sixty-one percent of Americans discovered a small business through Facebook in the past six months, making it the leading platform for business discovery. YouTube ranked second at 48%, followed by Instagram at 46% and TikTok at 45%.
Generational splits showed distinct patterns. Millennials (69%) and Gen X (57%) reported the highest Facebook discovery rates, while only 53% of Gen Z found businesses on the platform. Gen Z instead favored TikTok (76%) and Instagram (70%) for discovering small businesses.
YouTube showed consistent performance across age groups, particularly among millennials (53%) and Gen Z (60%). Reddit emerged as a discovery channel for 17% of Gen Z and 14% of millennials.
Signs.com, which provides custom signage for businesses, conducted a survey examining consumer behavior regarding small-business social media presence. All responses were self-reported.
Image credits: Signs.com The full report is available here
Jonathan is a South African content creator, photographer and videographer with 25 years of experience in journalism and print media design. He is interested in new developments in AI content creation and covers a broad spectrum of topics within the creator economy.
User-generated content (UGC) is now the most trusted format among Americans discovering small businesses on social media, while nearly half of consumers view artificial intelligence-generated content as a trust liability, according to new survey data that challenges current marketing automation trends.
Signs.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers regarding their social media habits, with responses stratified by age, gender, and other demographic characteristics.
According to the research, 31% of consumers identified UGC as the content type they trust most, the highest percentage overall. Brand-created visuals accounted for 27%, followed by influencer shout-outs or reviews at 20%.
The trust hierarchy varied significantly by generation. Gen X (33%) and boomers (31%) showed the strongest preferences for user-generated content compared to younger demographics. Gen Z demonstrated notably different patterns, with 30% citing influencer content as the most trustworthy, compared with just 4% of boomers.
Twenty-nine percent of Gen Z respondents trusted unboxing or haul videos, the highest among all age groups. Millennials leaned toward brand-created videos (30%) and behind-the-scenes content (21%).
AI Content Triggers Widespread Trust Concerns
Forty-eight percent of respondents reported that AI-generated content made a post feel less trustworthy, the most common concern overall. Skepticism intensified among younger groups, with 64% of Gen Z viewing AI-generated content negatively.
Stock photos raised red flags for 41% of respondents, while posts omitting pricing or key details concerned 38%, as did overly polished visuals. The data suggests production quality alone doesn’t build trust without transparency.
Gen Z expressed the most substantial skepticism toward both AI-generated content (64%) and stock imagery (50%). Gen X and boomers were more concerned about missing product information, with 43% of each group citing it as a concern.
Boomers showed the least responsiveness to turned-off comments (46%) and paid partnership labels (36%) compared to other age groups.
Customer Testimonials Drive Attention and Conversion
Customer testimonials demonstrated dual effectiveness: they both captured initial attention and drove purchase decisions. Thirty-five percent of respondents reported watching customer testimonials for at least 10 seconds, the highest percentage for any content type. Personal stories held attention for 31%, followed by funny or relatable hooks at 29%.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) spend 10 seconds or less on a small-business post before scrolling past, underscoring the critical importance of initial engagement.
Gen Z showed the highest engagement with humorous hooks (37%) and eye-catching visuals (33%), whereas millennials showed similar levels of interest. Gen X and boomers preferred practical formats, such as before-and-after posts, whereas customer reviews consistently held attention across all generations.
Respondents reported skipping AI-generated or automated content most frequently (29%), followed by posts about social or political topics (22%) and trending audio or format-driven posts (19%).
Reviews Dominate Purchase Influence
Fifty-two percent of respondents identified customer testimonials or reviews as the most likely content type to influence a purchase, reinforcing their effectiveness throughout the customer journey. Product demos or tutorials followed at 43%.
The influence of testimonials remained relatively consistent across age groups. Millennials showed the strongest response at 52%, while other generations also rated reviews highly.
Gen X demonstrated the strongest response to product demos, with 50% saying these posts influenced their decisions. Boomers gave above-average weight to demos (41%) and behind-the-scenes or origin story content (26%).
Thirty percent of Gen Z said trend-driven content, such as “TikTok Made Me Buy It” or GRWM-style (Get Ready With Me) posts, persuaded them to purchase. The same percentage cited before-and-after content as influential. Millennials responded to giveaways or promotions (28%) as a secondary influence factor.
Overall, 59% of respondents reported purchasing from a small business because of social media content.
Platform Discovery Patterns
Sixty-one percent of Americans discovered a small business through Facebook in the past six months, making it the leading platform for business discovery. YouTube ranked second at 48%, followed by Instagram at 46% and TikTok at 45%.
Generational splits showed distinct patterns. Millennials (69%) and Gen X (57%) reported the highest Facebook discovery rates, while only 53% of Gen Z found businesses on the platform. Gen Z instead favored TikTok (76%) and Instagram (70%) for discovering small businesses.
YouTube showed consistent performance across age groups, particularly among millennials (53%) and Gen Z (60%). Reddit emerged as a discovery channel for 17% of Gen Z and 14% of millennials.
Signs.com, which provides custom signage for businesses, conducted a survey examining consumer behavior regarding small-business social media presence. All responses were self-reported.
Image credits: Signs.com
The full report is available here
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