London, UK, 30 September 2026 – Nearly three quarters (72%) of marketers say their organization has made a significant business decision based on AI-generated insight which later turned out to be wrong or misleading, according to new data from GWI, the global insights and intelligence company.
The research, which surveyed over 450 marketers across the UK, US and Singapore, explores how marketer’s confidence in AI-generated insight is outpacing the discipline to verify it, a gap that's already producing significant costs for businesses across the globe.
The cost of acting on inaccurate or misleading insights is already measurable. More than a third (37%) of marketers say it has led to financial losses for their organisation, while 35% report customer complaints and 32% reputational damage.
“Marketing teams are under pressure to turn insight into action quickly,” said Jason Mander, Chief Insight Officer at GWI. “But when an AI-generated answer informs a campaign or strategic decision, its accuracy matters even more than its speed. These findings show the business cost of acting on incorrect insights.”
The consequences also extend to day-to-day work and campaign results. More than two fifths (44%) say inaccurate AI outputs have forced teams to redo work, while 41% say it’s delayed decision making, and 21% say it has damaged campaign performance.
The findings also raise questions about how consistently teams check AI-generated insights before they act on them. While the majority (91%) believe the risk of making business decisions based on inaccurate AI-generated insights is significant, only 37% say they verify AI-generated insights "most of the time."
And AI isn't just getting things wrong, it's making old information look brand new. More than four fifths (81%) of marketers agree that AI makes it easier for outdated information to influence decisions, while 76% have accidentally used data that they later realized was out of date.
"AI is only as reliable as the data behind it," Mander adds. "Verification means knowing where an insight comes from, how the underlying data was collected and whether it’s still up to date. These checks need to be built into everyday workflows, so that when an insight informs a campaign or business decision, there’s strong evidence behind it.”
These findings offer a preview snapshot from GWI’s upcoming report, Artificial Confidence: The AI Trust Gap, launching in November, which explores how businesses are using AI to understand their audiences, the risks of relying on unverified insights, and the role of trusted human data in supporting decision-making.
To learn more about how GWI combines proprietary human data with AI to help businesses make faster, smarter decisions, visit: https://www.gwi.com/