Is it Time for Some Effort Signaling?
Effort signaling? Like what a lazy husband does when he wants credit for taking out the trash? Far from it.
This new term describes what some brands are doing as consumers respond to the deluge of AI-generated ads and promotions. We've already hit the tipping point where, according to Harvard Business Review, consumers know when something feels off in an ad even if they can't overtly tell if it's AI. Seeing this trend, brands like Prada, Hermés, and Life Magazine are starting to re-invest in human-generated creative and (gasp) even physical media to woo back consumers that are tired of AI slop.
The research states, "On average, the AI-generated ads were 14% weaker on short-term sales potential and 17% weaker on long-term brand equity." Acknowledging the cost and time savings, particularly with creative efforts, HBR recommends that companies measure AI ROI based on awareness, conversion, trust and long-term brand equity rather than a 'cost-per' metric. So what does this mean for enterprises and small businesses alike?
It's about the human behind the purchase. Alwasy has been, always will be. Even as we enter the age of agents, human impulse, input and incentive will drive awareness, prompting, and engagement. The thing is, we're all over the novelty that AI has provided and are starting to get openly disgusted with what companies are prying us with (has anyone seen an AI-generated menu or flyer lately?). We've all become marginally savvy enough to be able to detect a decent amount of AI ads, and it seems that true human effort is being rewarded again.
It's not all doom and gloom for cost-conscious marketers, though. HBR points out that advertisements featuring the products themselves with a clear before-and-after benefit (think car ads or cleaning products) can be created effectively with AI. Emotions, humor, cultural zeitgeist and narrative tension are harder to generate, so it's recommended that those approaches leverage a human touch.
As we've all likely experienced, AI is better at the exploration and initial execution phases of development, whereas human intervention is most beneficial for devloping strategies, creative briefs, brand campaigns, and brand perception. As companies continue to lean on AI to cut costs and scale quickly it's imporant to remember that it can't do it all, especially when thinking about long term customer value and brand equity.
Human connections can still only be made by humans.
Something to chew on: What are some AI-created ads that you've seen that have truly motivated you to take action?
Research Source: https://hbr.org/2026/09/research-ai-generated-ads-perform-worse-than-human-made-ones-even-when-customers-cant-tell-them-apart
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