85.6% of SNS users need to display AI content... 54.1% responded that it was absolutely necessary

85.6% of respondents said AI content needs to be displayed… 54.1% said it was “necessary”

AI content “awkward” 49.9%… Approximately 10% rated “creative and interesting”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Ji-eun = It was found that more than 8 out of 10 social media (SNS) users think that content and advertisements created with AI (artificial intelligence) should clearly indicate whether or not AI is used.

Although generative AI technology is rapidly permeating our daily lives, users are increasingly feeling awkward and deceived and are complaining of fatigue.

◇ AI content “feels awkward and deceived”… Request for disclosure of specific scope of use

According to the Open Survey Social Media Trend Report 2026 released by research tech company Open Survey on the 26th, in a survey of 900 YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok users, 85.6% of respondents responded that displaying AI content on SNS was necessary.

In particular, the majority of respondents (54.1%) said it was absolutely necessary.

This demand for notation was high regardless of platform.

By platform, 88.0% of YouTube users responded that AI display was necessary, recording the highest rate, followed by Instagram at 85.3% and TikTok at 83.3%.

This demand from users is interpreted as stemming from aversion to AI content.

When asked how they felt when encountering AI content on SNS, nearly half of the respondents (49.9%) responded, “It feels artificial or awkward.”

Next, negative reactions were overwhelming in the following order: "I doubt whether the content or information is true" (39.0%), "I feel deceived if I do not disclose the fact that I used AI" (33.8%), and "I am confused about whether people, products, and scenes are real" (23.7%). Only around 10% gave positive evaluations such as “creative” (11.4%), “interesting” (10.4%), or “new” (9.6%).

Antipathy towards advertising was also noticeable.

“It feels like it was made with AI” (13.2%) ranked third as the reason for memorable negative advertising, following “feeling exaggerated” (20.8%) and “repeated exposure” (18.7%).

Accordingly, users want to disclose specific information beyond simple AI labeling.

As a result of investigating the information needed to alleviate the inconvenience of AI advertising and review content, in addition to "clearly indicating whether AI is used" (54.7%), "specifically indicating which part it was used in" (37.8%), "indicating whether it was an advertisement or sponsorship" (33.7%), "guiding to parts that are different from reality or exaggerated" (32.6%), "separate provision of actual product photos and information" (27.9%), "information source and basis. “Provision” (26.3%) was widely requested.

◇ KakaoTalk usage rate 6.7%p↓… Thread is up 4.5%p↑

Meanwhile, in the domestic SNS market, there was a contrast between KakaoTalk's decline and Meta Thread's growth.

In a nationwide survey of 3,000 men and women aged 15 to 59, Naver (93.8%), YouTube (83.0%), Google (78.9%), KakaoTalk (73.8%), and Instagram (63.3%) had the highest usage rates. However, KakaoTalk plunged 6.7% points (p) compared to the previous year, but Thread rose 4.5% points to 17.7%.

An Open Survey official emphasized, "Users are feeling deep fatigue from the possibility of information distortion and deception hidden behind the convenience provided by AI technology," and added, "If platforms and creators do not establish self-cleaning mechanisms to transparently disclose whether or not AI is used and the scope, users' departure and distrust will further accelerate."