How do people feel about AI? Whatever you may think, we have data to showcase where consumer trust lives in 2025. 

In fact, we plotted our data across 5 charts that say what your customers won’t: They like AI email content. 

Many of them, however, can’t tell whether or not something is an AI message to begin with, and honestly, they feel pretty indifferent about that fact. What consumers want from brands is personalized email experiences, whether said experiences are AI-generated or not. 

Economic headwinds, inflation, tariffs, and anxiety seem to be the themes of this year (yes, even though we’re just at the start of Q2. Gulp.). Trust is fragile, attention is scarce, and marketing dollars must work harder than ever. As Backstroke maintains a proprietary dataset from 10k+ ecommerce brands, we find value from the insights that can be uncovered within it. Therefore, we analyzed retail data to determine where consumer trust and engagement actually live right now.

Amid the noise, two trends stand out:

• Email is still king.
• Consumers are surprisingly open to AI-generated email content—especially when it’s done well.

Chart 1: Email Is Still the Channel Consumers Trust Most.

In a world where technology, algorithms, and economics are constantly shifting, email has remained remarkably resilient! When we surveyed over 500 consumers across all age groups, asking a simple question:

 “What’s your preferred way to receive discounts, deals, and news from your favorite brands?”

The results were loud and clear: 56% of consumers said that their preferred method of receiving marketing messaging was via email. That’s more than double the number who preferred SMS/text (25%), and far ahead of those who prefer social media (14%).

 So why does email continue to dominate? We’d venture to say because it’s private, persistent, and skimmable, before you even open a message. These days, email is optimized for skimmability, from its summarized pre-headers to its deisgn content . Combining those characteristics with the fact that most people shop their inboxes daily makes email marketing the perfect channel for staying connected to consumers at any time. 

And speaking of checking email daily . . .

Chart 2: All Generations Are Inbox Power Users.

Forget what you’ve heard about Gen Z being glued to their phones. While Baby Boomers are the ultimate inbox MVPs, all generations consistently check email for promotions, sales, and newsletters on a regular basis.

An analysis of our data shows that:

• Baby Boomers check their inboxes for promotional content multiple times per day—more than any other generation.
• However, significant amounts of people across all generations check inboxes for marketing materials at least once per day, if not more.

Whether you’re targeting Gen Z or Gen X, email remains one of the most universally checked channels . . . So make sure you take advantage of it!

Chart 3: Most People Can’t Even Tell What An AI Message Looks Like.

When it comes to identifying AI email content, there’s a clear generational divide.

Gen Z and Millennials are twice as likely to correctly guess whether email subject lines were written by AI. Gen X and Baby Boomers, on the other hand, generally struggle to tell the difference. And while their accuracy rates are significantly lower, that might not be a bad thing!

Here’s the twist: Younger consumers also self-report being more open-minded toward AI-generated email content to begin with. Therefore, using AI messages generally don’t negatively impact their shopping experiences. 

Meanwhile, as more Baby Boomer consumers say that they’re “unlikely to not at all likely” to engage with AI-generated content . . . They probably can’t tell what that actually is.

Chart 4: Most Consumers Really Feel Neutral to Positive About AI . . . And That’s Great fo Brands!

Most consumers actually feel neutral to positive about AI-generated email content.

In our survey, we found that:

• Gen Z is the most open-minded generation when it comes to AI marketing. They’re 125% more likely to say they’re open to AI-generated content than Baby Boomers.
• Millennials and Gen X aren’t far behind,with both reporting the same likelihood to engage with AI-generated emails.
• Baby Boomers? They’re the least likely to want to engage with AI, but don’t count them out just yet!

This trend aligns with what we saw in Chart 3. Younger generations are not only better at spotting AI, they’re also more likely to welcome it, so long as its contents are relevant and well-crafted.

But here's the nuance: Even the most skeptical generations can be won over with the right AI email messaging. Baby Boomers may self-report lower engagement with AI, but they’re not anti-technology. In fact, many Boomers adopt new technology early if it serves them. So if you’re generating emails for them, lean into content they like! Boomers love straightforward messages, ALL CAPS, and exclamation points! So if you’re marketing to hesitant Baby Boomers, fear not! AI-generated content can be personalized and compelling enough to win them over.

Chart 5: Even Different Kinds of Skeptics Are on Board.

While overall sentiment toward AI-generated content is neutral to positive, device preference reveals some subtle differences in how consumers feel. Generally speaking though, most consumers are neutral or positive.

Here’s what we found:

• iPhone users are 26% more likely to report negative feelings about AI marketing content, compared to Android users.
• That said, the majority of iPhone users still report feeling neutral to positive about AI overall.
• Android users are more relaxed about AI and email, with nearly half saying they feel neutral about it, making them the more open-minded segment.

So yes, some groups like Apple users might raise a skeptical eyebrow, but when AI-generated email content is useful, relevant, and well-timed? They will still engage with it.

How Can Brands Use AI to Build Consumer Trust?

If our data says anything, it’s this: Email still wins. AI isn’t scaring off consumers. And in a rocky economy, efficiency matters more than ever.

In a time of rising CAC, shrinking budgets, and endless digital noise, brands can’t afford to guess. Brands need AI messaging that cuts through busy inboxes, containing content that scales without sounding robotic, looking weird, or taking hours of time to build and get right. Nowadays, brands can personalize every touchpoint with seamless creative and build gorgeous, performant email campaigns in a snap!