The European Union's AI Act will mandate digital watermarking for many AI-generated content types beginning in December 2026. AI-generated material is appearing across internet platforms.
Brands are increasing spending on pay-per-click advertising to maintain online visibility. Brands are utilizing AI to generate content to maintain visibility in search rankings. Niel Bornman, chief executive of Connected Media at Publicis Groupe, said, "Some businesses have seen organic search traffic decline by between 5 percent and 35 percent as AI answer engines provide instant responses that stop users from visiting official websites."
Publishers are encountering AI-generated books and fabricated reviews online. Music streaming services host playlists featuring tracks by artificial musical acts. Dan Conway, chief executive of the Publishers Association, stated, "Large language models are hoovering up everybody's content and using it with reckless abandon." He said, "The second a Premier League football club signs a major player, dozens of AI-generated biographies suddenly appear on Amazon."
A 2025 survey found that 53 percent of consumers distrust AI-generated search results and summaries. A global survey found that 70 percent of people are uncomfortable with AI-generated media. Bornman said, "A significant portion of people, particularly the younger generation, now operate under the assumption that everything they see online is fake." He added, "This skepticism makes it harder for brands to establish genuine connections." He said, "It's also a lot more expensive to get people's attention." YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan identified managing AI-generated content as a platform priority for 2026. Spotify used spam-detection systems to remove millions of tracks identified as bot-generated.
Bornman said, "There's been an explosion in the use of AI-detection technologies." He said, "Executives are asking: what does this mean for my brand?" He said, "Do I need to invest in it?" Mel Morris, chief executive of Corpora.ai, stated, "Much like antivirus software was designed to stop malicious programs entering a PC, organizations are increasingly using detection tools to filter out AI-generated content." Most AI detection tools calculate the probability of AI usage rather than providing definitive determinations. AI detection systems can incorrectly flag human-created content as machine-generated. Morris said, "Just as antivirus programs could miss countless threats while wrongly flagging harmless files, AI detection tools are often unreliable." Conway stated, "The answer to the machine may ultimately involve more machines." He added, "But it's fair to say these tools won't catch everything."