As generative AI ads flood Singapore market, experts say poorly made ones could backfire on brands, agencies

While the level of feedback ASAS has received is about the same as in 2025, the authorities are still concerned if advertisers use generative AI to mislead consumers, do not consider whether their AI use could mislead consumers, or do not vet the generated advertisements for misleading statements and effects, he added.

“Disclosure of the use of AI alone does not whitewash this issue,” said Mr Tan.

Already, half the advertisers out there use generative AI in making video ads, he said earlier this year, pointing to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Consumers are concerned about brands using generative AI to create misleading ads, he had said, noting that the feedback it received in 2025 spanned various industries – from interior design and investments to beauty and health.

“Indiscriminate and vague” disclosures of AI use are not useful, he said in April. Instead, ASAS called on marketers and industry bodies to develop guides on how to ethically use generative AI for scenarios unique to their sector.

LOSING CREDIBILITY

When brands use generative AI in their ads, this can signal that they put less effort into the product and its marketing efforts, which can cause them to lose credibility with consumers, experts said.

“Mediocre advertising tends to irritate consumers, irrespective of whether AI was used or not,” said Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Professor of marketing Sabine Benoit.

“But using AI can signal that the company has not put much effort into the product, and that can come across as negligible. This is, of course, the opposite of the signals the organisations want to send.”

While consumers are unlikely to judge a company negatively just because it uses AI, problems arise when the execution feels careless, generic or misleading, she added.

Since generative AI tools are still relatively new, many companies are still learning how to use them well, which is why some “fairly mediocre” work is still emerging, said Prof Benoit.

“Ultimately, using AI will not necessarily damage a brand. Using it poorly can,” she said.

Using generative AI, especially virtual influencers, may be too uncanny for some consumers’ comfort, said Associate Professor Ang Swee Hoon from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) department of marketing.

“It gives them the creeps,” she said, adding that this causes more mistrust than curiosity where AI influencers are concerned.

The audience may also feel that with the money spent on advertising to get them to buy products, the brand should at least not rely on AI so that what the audience sees is the “truth” or “reality”, and this builds credibility, she added.

Not all publicity is good publicity, experts stressed. The buzz generated online can escalate wildly, and if the buzz is negative, the ad would have generated a negative image for the brand, said Assoc Prof Ang.

In some cases, the ad may have to be taken down. This means the campaign did not achieve its original objectives, she added.

Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Assistant Professor Looi Jie Min, who researches digital advertising, said people perceive creativity as a core human trait that stems from personal experience, emotions and cultural understanding.

“I would say that users expect this kind of human involvement for creative fields like advertising and marketing,” she added.

“So when they encounter AI trying to be in these creative fields, they might have a kind of negative reaction because they believe that AI should not be a replacement for human creativity.”

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY AND SCALE

Despite the possible controversy, the demand for AI-generated ads continues to grow. Brands and agencies said using the technology has three main benefits – speed, scale and the ability to demonstrate relevance to the latest trends.

Companies that need to quickly scale ads and marketing materials across many different countries or markets can use generative AI to adapt one set of materials, AI Studio’s founder Ms Tan said, adding that the team can turn a project around in 24 to 48 hours.

“If let’s say they did give it to a traditional agency, it will cost them a lot more to be able to shoot in multiple countries, multiple languages. But with AI, the scale is limitless.”

How comfortable they are with using generative AI also differs from brand to brand. For example, some companies are more cautious about being caught using generative AI, so they only use it for product videos, while other companies don’t mind using it for videos with human models, she added.

Using generative AI also does not necessarily lower costs, said Ms Tan, noting that some brands are afraid of being criticised for raising prices while using AI.

The cost depends on the client’s needs. For example, an SME that might need a very simple one-minute video could pay about S$1,000, while a big MNC that wants a one-minute video with complex, frame-by-frame editing could pay about S$20,000, she added.