The news: More than half (51%) of Asia-Pacific consumers encounter poor-quality AI content from brands, a trend that’s eroding trust to a global low. Only 5% of Asia-Pacific shoppers fully trust brand-generated AI content, versus 12% in the US and 16% in Europe, per Klaviyo data cited by Martech View.

Why it’s worth watching: In the US, proposed “No Adversarial AI” legislation targets government use of Chinese AI systems rather than imposing blanket consumer bans, while access to leading Chinese chatbots remains limited and fragmented. 

By contrast, foundation models like Baidu’s ERNIE, Tencent’s Hunyuan, iFlytek’s Spark, and Alibaba’s Qwen are scaling more aggressively through Asia‑Pacific cloud and enterprise channels, often positioning on price. Of these models, only Alibaba's Qwen is available via API access in the US.

Meanwhile, a Klaviyo report found that 63% of Asia-Pacific consumers have mistaken human-written content for AI, highlighting a growing trust issue shaped more by perception than where a model comes from.

Consumers say they frequently spot “AI slop” in feeds and brand interactions. Generic AI content damages brand equity, especially among younger, daily users. The region’s high AI adoption sharpens intolerance for poorly executed AI slop in a marketing context.

Zooming out: Despite distrust of branded AI, consumers embrace AI while shopping. Seventy-eight percent use AI to compare brands or get recommendations, per Klaviyo, with electronics leading at 66%. Men are 35% more likely than women to buy via AI tools.

Implications for brands: Asia-Pacific consumers reject generic AI content but rely on AI for decisions. However, the saturation of AI slop in branded content is getting pushback and breeding mistrust.

The mandate for brands: Stop scaling content and start scaling usefulness. Authenticity and human connection are now competitive advantages.

• Audit AI content for quality; replace volume with value.
• Design AI tools for consumer benefit, not just operational efficiency.
• Blend human oversight with automation to preserve trust.

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