AI is now embedded in content creation, but broader audience sentiment reveals clear limits to its effectiveness. Spark Emotions’ global research shows that while AI can support speed and scale, trust, relevance, and emotional connection remain the primary drivers of engagement, shaping how content strategies should evolve in 2026.
AI has quickly moved from novelty, to a staple part of strategy and infrastructure when it comes to content creation.
Captions, summaries, visuals, and even avatars can now be generated at speed, and made to be shockingly lifelike. But the question facing brands is no longer whether AI can create content. It’s whether audiences want to engage with it.
Spark Emotions’ recent Global Content Strategy & AI Sentiment Survey explores how people across markets feel about AI driven content, and what those emotions mean for brands trying to earn attention in crowded environments.
AI has quickly moved from novelty, to a staple part of strategy and infrastructure when it comes to content creation.
Captions, summaries, visuals, and even avatars can now be generated at speed, and made to be shockingly lifelike. But the question facing brands is no longer whether AI can create content. It’s whether audiences want to engage with it.
Spark Emotions’ recent Global Content Strategy & AI Sentiment Survey explores how people across markets feel about AI driven content, and what those emotions mean for brands trying to earn attention in crowded environments.
Across markets, attitudes toward AI generated content sit in a cautious middle.
While some audiences are open to AI involvement, especially in the Middle East, the survey found that trust is fragile. Concerns around accuracy, misinformation, and lack of human emotion consistently outweigh enthusiasm for automation.
The data shows a clear pattern:
In other words, audiences are not rejecting AI outright. They are rejecting content that feels detached, generic, or emotionally thin. Human emotion still wins.
AI excels at speed, consistency, and volume. But human behaviour is shaped by relevance, context, and emotion.
Our research highlights that:
This creates a strategic tension. So how can brands win?
Brands that optimise content purely for output risk producing material that audiences scroll past without emotional response. Content strategy in 2026 cannot be built on efficiency metrics alone. It must be designed around how people feel when they encounter content, not just how often it appears.
One of the most consistent findings across markets is the role of authenticity.
People are more likely to follow and engage with accounts that feel:
Our data found that AI generated content becomes a barrier when it feels staged, repetitive, or disconnected from lived experience. This is particularly pronounced when content lacks emotional nuance or cultural awareness.
As Spark Emotions’ Chief Research Officer Andy Bromley explains:
“AI can replicate structure, but it can’t replicate lived experience. When content loses emotional credibility, people disengage quickly, often without consciously realising why.”
The implication for brands is not to abandon AI, but to reposition it.
Effective content strategies will:
AI should enhance content systems, not replace emotional judgement. When audiences feel manipulated, misled, or spoken at, engagement drops regardless of production quality.
AI is now part of the content landscape, but sentiment makes one thing clear.
People do not engage with content because it is efficient. They engage because it feels relevant, trustworthy, and human.
Content strategies that succeed in 2026 will be those that understand where AI helps and where it erodes emotional connection, designing systems that respect how people actually experience content, not just how it is produced.
The findings above are just a snapshot. The full Spark Emotions Global Content Strategy and AI Sentiment Survey covers audience sentiment across the UK, USA, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia in detail. You can access the full report here.