LIGANOVA AI TRUST INDEX: “Renaissance of the Real” Is Transforming Brand Management in the AI Era

Stuttgart, September 22, 2026. AI is increasingly changing the way people discover, evaluate, and select products. At the same time, skepticism toward what they encounter online is growing: 77 percent of respondents say they are increasingly questioning content on social media. This raises a key question for brands: How can credibility be built when it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is synthetic?

Answers are provided by LIGANOVA’s new AI TRUST INDEX, developed in collaboration with research partner Appinio. The focus study examines how the increasing use of AI is changing perceptions of brands and which factors build trust today. Consumers in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands were surveyed.

The results show that AI has become part of everyday life and is routinely used for research and recommendations. However, this does not automatically build trust. The harder it is to distinguish between real and synthetic content, the more consumers seek ways to verify brand promises for themselves.

At the same time, the study does not indicate a shift away from AI or digital channels. Rather, a “Renaissance of the Real” is emerging: real people, products, and personal brand experiences are gaining importance as credible and verifiable touchpoints. Physical spaces are becoming particularly relevant in this context: 87 percent look elsewhere, if online information does not seem authentic to them. Stores, showrooms, and brand experiences are thus evolving from mere communication and sales channels into proof points where brand promises can be verified directly. The store becomes the “source of truth.”

Nevertheless, close integration with the digital world is crucial: the impact of a real-world experience does not end at the physical touchpoint. 86 percent rate a brand’s subsequent digital communication as more credible if they have previously had a positive personal experience with it. LIGANOVA refers to this effect as “Trust Transfer”: real-world experiences build trust and create lasting memories, which in turn feed back into digital communication, content, and recommendations.

“The renaissance of the real world doesn’t mean less digital or less AI. Rather, real-world experiences are taking on a new strategic role: they make brand promises verifiable, build trust, and thereby also strengthen digital brand communication. It is precisely in this interplay between real life and real time that sustainable brand equity is created today.”

Under the title “Memories of Truth – How Brand Equity Is Built Today,” LIGANOVA is presenting the results of the AI TRUST INDEX at various industry events. Following the kickoff in London, highlights include the opening keynote at the F.A.Z. Institute’s German Brand Summit on September 23, 2026, in Frankfurt, as well as additional “Memories of Truth” events in October at LIGANOVA’s locations in Amsterdam and Stuttgart.

The complete AI TRUST INDEX is available for download after registration: