Conjointly, an all-in-one survey research platform, today published new research revealing that consumer ability to distinguish between real and AI-generated images has declined to chance levels, despite many consumers expressing confidence in their detection abilities.
Sydney, 25 September 2025 - Conjointly, an all-in-one survey research platform, today published new research revealing that consumer ability to distinguish between real and AI-generated images has declined to chance levels, despite many consumers expressing confidence in their detection abilities.
The study, published on Conjointly’s research blog, surveyed 301 US adults in September 2025 to examine how advancing AI image generation technology affects consumer perception and detection capabilities. This research builds on previous Conjointly studies conducted in June 2023 and October 2024, providing unique ongoing insights into this rapidly evolving landscape.
“Building on our previous research from June 2023 and October 2024, we wanted to track how consumers are adapting as AI technology continues to evolve,” said Nik Samoylov, Founder of Conjointly. “What’s particularly striking is that across all three studies, we see a consistent pattern: consumer confidence remains high whilst actual detection performance continues to decline. This multi-year view shows us just how quickly the landscape is changing.”
The September 2025 study presented respondents with six real images and six AI-generated images created using Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash model. Participants were asked to identify each image as either real or AI-generated, alongside questions about AI tool awareness, usage patterns, and attitudes towards AI-generated content.
Key Research Findings
Consumer Detection Accuracy Reaches Chance Levels: Only 9% of consumers correctly identified at least 70% of images shown, with real images correctly identified just 49% of the time and AI images 52% of the time, essentially random performance.
Overconfidence Persists: Despite poor performance, 42% of respondents reported feeling confident or extremely confident in their ability to distinguish between AI and real images, maintaining the same confidence level as October 2024.
Age Influences Detection Ability: Younger consumers (18-29) performed slightly better, achieving 57% accuracy for AI images and 55% for real images, while consumers aged 65+ struggled with real image identification at just 43% accuracy.
ChatGPT Dominates AI Tool Awareness: 73% of consumers are aware of ChatGPT with 45% having used it in the past three months, followed by Google Gemini at 62% awareness and 32% usage.
Growing Detection of AI Marketing Content: 50% of consumers reported recent encounters with AI-created marketing materials, up from 44% in October 2024 and 41% in June 2023.
Declining Consumer Sentiment Towards AI Content: Aesthetic appeal ratings for AI-generated content dropped from 53% to 43%, while agreement on using AI for marketing content declined sharply from 55% to 36%.
The study highlights critical considerations for brands and marketers as AI-generated content becomes increasingly indistinguishable from real imagery. With consumer detection abilities at chance levels but sentiment declining, the research underscores the importance of transparency and disclosure in marketing communications.
“These findings suggest that while consumers can’t reliably detect AI-generated images, their attitudes towards such content are becoming more sceptical,” added Samoylov. “Brands need to navigate this landscape carefully, focusing on authenticity and clear communication about their content creation methods.”
The complete research findings, including detailed breakdowns by demographics and image types, are available at: https://conjointly.com/blog/real-vs-ai-images-2025/.
About Conjointly Conjointly started as a simple online tool for conjoint analysis in 2016 and since then, has evolved into a full-feature market research platform and a team of talented researchers who help all sorts of companies — from early-stage start-ups to large enterprises with top-tier insights teams.
Conjointly’s tools address the most common pricing and product research problems and are supplemented with expert support and guidance from experienced researchers. With thousands of projects performed on the platform, Conjointly is the go-to research place for hundreds of clients.
