SOCi’s 2025 Consumer Behavior Index (CBI) sends a clear warning to hospitality CMOs and digital marketing leaders. Discovery has changed, and traditional digital strategies are no longer enough. While 19% of consumers now use generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to find businesses, a staggering 95% say AI is the least trusted source when it comes to making actual purchase decisions.
“AI may answer the question, but social media earns the trust,” said Monica Ho, CMO at SOCi. “That’s why TikTok, Instagram, and reviews aren’t just content channels. They’re your most critical conversion levers. Brands that fail to show up authentically in these spaces will lose relevance fast.”
Consumers aren’t rejecting AI; they’re verifying it. As AI tools increasingly serve as a starting point for local discovery, consumers are looking to platforms like TikTok and Instagram to validate that what AI suggests is accurate, relevant, and human-backed. This is especially true for Gen Z, where 34% use TikTok and 35% use Instagram to discover new brands. The message is clear: AI may start the journey, but trust is earned through people.
This is not a future problem. This is today’s reality. Consumers now move fluidly between AI tools, social media, and review platforms to validate claims, check brand reputation, and watch videos from real customers before making decisions. Treating these touchpoints as disconnected strategies creates costly blind spots. With Google increasingly surfacing social content in search results, SOCi’s 2024 Local Visibility Index found that brands that lack a social-first presence are leaving millions in potential revenue untapped.
The trust-building doesn’t stop at discovery. Reviews are now the final checkpoint before conversion. An overwhelming 91% of consumers rely on peer-generated content to evaluate local businesses. Among younger audiences, 40% prefer video reviews, and 65% say they are more likely to choose a business that actively responds to reviews. Yet 55% are increasingly skeptical of fake feedback, highlighting that transparency and responsiveness are now business-critical.
Importantly, reviews are not only influential to consumers but also a key signal for AI engines (Damian Rollison, Search Engine Land). Tools like ChatGPT incorporate customer reviews as a foundational input in generating local recommendations. This underscores the dual role reviews now play in building consumer trust and shaping how businesses appear in AI-powered discovery results.
“As the lines between search, social, and reputation blur, brands must double down on transparency, authenticity, and trust across every channel,” said Ho. “Those who showcase real customer experiences, lean into visual content, and engage meaningfully on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and trusted review sites will earn lasting loyalty.”
The CBI survey was conducted between February 19 and February 24, 2025, and included 1,001 adult U.S. respondents distributed evenly across gender, age, and geographic area. To explore the full findings of the 2025 Consumer Behavior Index, visit soci.ai/insights/consumer-behavior-index.
