According to a study by Havas, AI is making brands more efficient but not creating value for consumers.

The study was undertaken across seven markets: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, UK and USA.

According to the study, only 9% of AI enabled brand experiences achieve the highest scores. It added that AI is delivering efficiency for brands, but too few AI-enabled brand experiences are delivering the value for consumers.

Havas labels the challenge the 'AI Efficiency Trap' - when AI creates efficiency for the brand without creating enough value for the consumer. To help brands avoid it, Havas developed the 'Valuable AI Experience Score', a measure for evaluating whether AI-enabled brand experiences are creating consumer value. The score analyses 'Utility' (the experience feels useful and relevant), 'Credibility' (the experience feels believable and trustworthy) and 'Appeal' (the experience feels engaging and exciting).

The score also accounts for experiences that feel misleading or manipulative, recognising that AI can reduce value as well as create it.

The research reveals a clear pattern: AI performs best when it has a clear job to do – helping people understand, compare, decide, or get support.

AI-assisted education and support recorded the highest valuable AI experience score at 56.7 out of 100, followed by AI-assisted product comparison (55.4), and AI brand presence in chat tools (54.9).

AI-generated influencer content scored lowest at 45.9, followed by brand advertising (48.4), and shoppable formats (49.6).  The role of AI also differs significantly by sector. Automotive recorded the highest valuable AI experience score, as AI can play a clear role helping people compare options and navigate complex decisions. Healthcare OTC scored the lowest, where trust and accuracy are nonnegotiable.

Across the seven markets: 

• 50% agree that the use of AI by brands can make things look, feel, or sound the
• same
• 56% say AI used by brands can feel misleading
• Just 29% believe the use of AI by brands feels human

Mark Sinnock, global chief strategy, intelligence and innovation officer, Havas Creative Network, said, "Efficiency is a legitimate goal. But AI is not just an operational tool, it’s a creative medium. Business leaders ask what AI saves. Brand builders need to ask what it creates. The brands that win will be the ones that bring the same insight, care and craft to AI-enabled experiences as they would to any other expression of their brand. The machine can scale anything. The question is whether what you’re scaling is worth it.”

David Shulman, global CEO, Havas CX, said, "Most brands have an AI roadmap. Far fewer have mapped where it can add real value. When AI is aimed too broadly, it can actually weaken the moments that build customer trust and preference. The brands that win will not be the ones using the most AI. They will be the ones focusing it where it matters most to customers to drive desirable experiences.”

The report added that the reward for getting it right is significant: high-scoring AI experiences were associated with 4.4x higher engagement, 1.6x stronger brand desire, and 1.5x greater growth potential than low-scoring experiences.