Snap study: AI users will trade data, but dislike personalised AI ads.
A Snap study of more than 4,200 AI users, run with Ipsos and WPP, says people will give up data for AI tools when the benefit is obvious. Yet 70% find personal data used in hyper-personalised AI ads intrusive.
According to Snap, 48% of consumers use AI every day and 50% of creators and marketers call it a core part of their routine. Sixty-two per cent of AI users said the tools help them keep conversations going, more than 80% describe AI as friendly and collaborative, and 74% see it as a judgement-free space to work out difficult feelings before talking to friends. Snapchatters were 2.2 times more likely to say AI helps their social life and 1.6 times more likely to use it to plan real-world activities.
The report frames privacy as a sliding scale: people ask whether sharing data is worth it rather than whether something is private. Respondents still had reservations about letting AI handle money or make purchases. And 56% said fully AI-generated content feels soulless.
Social Media Today's coverage does not give the countries surveyed, the dates of fieldwork or how respondents were chosen, and Snap's full report was not linked. That makes it hard to say whether the findings hold for Gulf audiences, where Snapchat is one of the most used apps.
For brands in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf that lean heavily on Snapchat, the split is the useful part. Audiences seem happy to use AI tools in private chat, but are wary of ads that feel built from their personal data. That argues for AI-assisted creative that stays contextual and clearly human-made, rather than hyper-personalised copy.
Why it matters
People are warming to AI assistants but pushing back on ads that feel built from their own data, a line brands need to respect.
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