Global Consumers Demand Greater AI Transparency and Explainability From Businesses, According to RWS Research

62% of consumers would trust brands more if they were transparent about AI use

CHALFONT ST PETER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A sharp rise in AI-generated content is prompting global consumers to call for greater transparency from businesses, according to RWS’s global research. Over 80% of consumers believe that AI-created material – including text, images and video – should be clearly labelled, while 62% say that such transparency would increase their trust in a brand, according to research involving 5,000 consumers.

RWS’s Unlocked 2025: Riding the AI Shockwave report, based on research across 14 global markets in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, explores consumers’ sentiment towards AI and the ways in which businesses are using AI in their global communications.

Building Trust Through Transparency

“While excitement around generative AI remains high, businesses face a mounting challenge – consumer trust,” said Vasagi Kothandapani, President, Enterprise Services at RWS. “Our research underscores that the long-term success of AI adoption depends on transparency, ethical implementation and the integration of human expertise to create high-quality, culturally relevant content.”

As businesses increasingly turn to AI-generated content, consumers are noticing the shift. The research found that 76% of consumers have already observed a rise in AI-enabled customer service chatbots.

While 71% of consumers recognize the benefits of AI in their day-to-day life, 82% of those who care about AI say they would have more trust if humans were involved in AI development. And a slightly higher proportion (84%) would have more trust in AI that demonstrates explainability – that is, AI which seeks to be transparent and understandable to humans.

AI Adoption in Regulated Industries

In regulated industries, the research also found that consumers have concerns about businesses that use AI, with 73% of consumers globally admitting discomfort with the use of AI in at least one of the legal, financial services or healthcare sectors.

Navigating AI with Transparency and Trust

Businesses need AI solutions that go beyond content generation, ensuring accuracy, cultural relevance, and real-world impact. With human-in-the-loop oversight, companies can reduce bias, enhance explainability and improve quality – all critical for industries where trust and compliance matter.

By prioritizing transparent and responsible AI, businesses can break barriers to understanding, build trust in technology and connect with their customers in ways that are smarter, safer and more impactful.

Read the full Unlocked 2025: Riding the AI Shockwave report to explore how AI can be implemented responsibly to drive business success.

About RWS
RWS Holdings plc is a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services. Through content transformation and multilingual data analysis, our combination of AI-enabled technology and human expertise helps our clients to grow by ensuring they are understood anywhere, in any language.

Our purpose is unlocking global understanding. By combining cultural understanding, client understanding and technical understanding, our services and technology assist our clients to acquire and retain customers, deliver engaging user experiences, maintain compliance and gain actionable insights into their data and content.

Over the past 20 years we’ve been evolving our own AI solutions as well as helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With 45+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey.

We work with over 80% of the world’s top 100 brands, more than three-quarters of Fortune’s 20 ‘Most Admired Companies’ and almost all of the top pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and North and South America. Our 60+ global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive, chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and telecommunications sectors.

Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com.