Your customers don't hate AI — they hate you lying about it

Summary

Twilio research reports a major gap between brands’ and consumers’ accounts of AI-agent disclosure: 81% of brands say agents identify themselves immediately, while only 22% of consumers report that experience. Teams may treat a system-prompt line, widget label, or one-time channel message as disclosure, even though customers can miss it or encounter a different experience on SMS or voice. Recommended practice includes naming “AI agent” at the first turn, repeating disclosure across channels, explaining accessible data and decision logic, and offering an immediate route to a person. It also recommends checking transcripts rather than trusting configuration, using conversation analysis to verify whether disclosure fired. Research cited says 76% expect identification at the start, 49% want data-access transparency, and 54% trust AI more when its logic is explained.

Takeaways

1. 1

   81% of brands say their AI agents identify themselves immediately, but only 22% of consumers say that happens; 90% of consumers failed when tested on identifying text-based AI agents.

2. 2

   Consumers want transparency about more than identity: 49% want to know what data an AI agent can access, and 54% say clear explanations of AI logic increase their trust.

3. 3

   Disclosure should be measured in actual conversations rather than inferred from configuration. Transcript analysis can verify whether the disclosure fired across channels and interactions.