Nearly half of UK adults question message authenticity

Exclaimer has published research showing that nearly half of UK consumers have questioned whether a message they received was genuine. The findings come as European rules require businesses to disclose when customers are interacting with AI rather than a person.

The survey found that 46% of UK adults had doubted whether a message they received was genuine or legitimate, while 43% had questioned the authenticity of a broader communication. More than half, 53%, said the platform on which a message arrived affected how much they trusted it, and 47% said it affected whether a message felt authentic at all.

The data points to a widening gap between the growing use of AI in everyday communication and persistent public unease about whether digital messages can be trusted. Half of UK adults said they now use AI in some aspect of their communications, most commonly to improve grammar and spelling or to make writing sound more professional.

Some uses were more personal. Respondents said they used AI to sound more confident, soften difficult messages or avoid awkward conversations altogether, suggesting the technology is becoming part of how people manage tone as well as wording.

Age divide

The sharpest divide appeared across age groups. Among people aged 65 and over, 26% said they used AI in their communications, compared with 76% of those aged 25 to 34.

Older respondents were also more likely to distrust messages. The survey found that 51% of over-65s had questioned whether a message was genuine, compared with 31% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

Younger adults were more likely to use AI for socially delicate exchanges. Almost a quarter of Gen Z respondents said they used AI to soften a difficult message, and 16% said they used it to avoid an awkward conversation, compared with 4% and 2% respectively among baby boomers.

The figures suggest that familiarity with AI tools may reduce suspicion among younger users, while lower adoption among older groups may contribute to greater scepticism. At the same time, the results show that concern about authenticity now extends well beyond explicitly automated exchanges.

Ed Bodey, general counsel at Exclaimer, said: "While the EU AI Act will require businesses to disclose AI system usage in customer conversations, our research shows that people are already questioning the authenticity of messages. Regulation is simply catching up with instinct.

"Nearly half of UK adults already question what lands in their inbox, and people are conscious of the giveaways in emails, whether it's a correct company domain or a strong signature. Businesses must continue to prioritise trust in communications regardless of changes in regulation, because even the smallest detail can make or break a customer relationship."

Email record

The research also highlighted how strongly consumers distinguish between channels depending on the importance of a message. For informal exchanges, respondents tended to favour calls, WhatsApp or social media direct messages.

When the subject was more consequential, email remained the preferred format. More than half of UK adults, 54%, said they had kept a message so they could refer back to it later, and 44% said they had deliberately chosen email over another platform to create a permanent record.

Email was the preferred channel for a formal complaint for 69% of respondents. It was also the top choice for updates from an employer on pay, benefits or policy for 58%, and for a job application or work opportunity for 44%.

Even in areas where other channels might seem more immediate, email retained an edge. For healthcare information or results, 32% said they would prefer email, compared with 20% who would rather be told over the phone.

Trust signals

The findings also show what consumers look for when judging whether an email is credible. A professional company email address was cited by 53% of respondents, while 51% said full contact details helped establish trust. A third, 33%, said a clear sender name was important.

Those preferences come as phishing remains a common cyber threat and AI-generated text makes fraudulent messages harder to distinguish from legitimate ones. The survey suggests that straightforward markers of identity still carry significant weight with recipients.

Exclaimer, which sells email signature management software, surveyed 2,000 adults across the UK and US, including 1,000 in the UK. It described the UK results as nationally representative by age, gender and region.

The findings suggest disclosure rules alone may not resolve consumer concerns if the wider communication lacks clear signals of authenticity. For many recipients, trust depends less on whether AI was used and more on whether the message looks verifiable and leaves a record.