AI Images Can Work as Well as Stock Photos

A website image can change how people feel about a company. NN/G studied whether AI images make a business seem less trustworthy than stock photos. Stock photos are existing pictures that teams can choose for their websites. The researchers found no trust disadvantage for the AI images they tested. However, people were not told how the images were made.

The study involved 77 adults from the U.S. and a fictional consulting company. Researchers made 6 versions of its webpage with different main images. They used 3 AI images and 3 real stock photos. Everything else on the pages stayed the same during the test. People saw each page for 10 seconds before rating the company. They judged trust, professionalism, and whether the company seemed real and honest.

Ratings were a little higher for AI images across these three measures. Only the difference in authenticity met the study's main statistical test. Authenticity means how real and honest something seems to a person. Even that difference was small: 0.4 points on a scale from 1 to 7. The researchers say this does not prove that AI images are better.

People's comments showed that the content of an image also mattered. Many liked pictures of people working together and showing different backgrounds. Some disliked a real photo because the group seemed less diverse or equal. AI does not automatically create inclusive images, so teams still need to check. They should look at who leads, who supports, and how people interact.

A few people suspected AI use and gave the website lower ratings. Sometimes they thought a real photo was made with AI. The study cannot tell us what happens when AI use is clearly stated. Its findings also may not apply to other industries or image types. Teams should check each picture, its fit, and how it was created before using it.