Taboola Study Finds AI Ads Perform Just as Well as Human-Made Ads, But Must Appear Authentic to Succeed.

A new study by Columbia University, Harvard University, Technical University of Munich, and Carnegie Mellon University found that generative AI (GenAI) ads perform just as well as human-made ads in real-world settings. The study analyzed hundreds of thousands of live ads running on Taboola's performance advertising platform, totaling over 500 million impressions and 3 million clicks. AI ads outperformed human ads when they appeared authentically human and prioritized visual trust signals, such as large, clear human faces. The study also found that certain industries, like food and drink and personal finance, were early to adopt AI ads.