Most consumers believe that food and beverage manufacturers should declare if a product has been made with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), new research shows.

In a survey commissioned by Ingredient Communications and conducted by SurveyGoo, 83 percent of respondents agreed that companies should declare on a product’s label if it has been designed or manufactured with the help of AI technology.¹ More than half of all those surveyed – 55 percent – agreed with this assertion strongly, and only four percent disagreed with it altogether.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) said they believed that food and beverage products made with the help of AI technology should not be described as ‘natural’ – with 12 percent disagreeing with this. There was also strong support for regulation, with 78 percent of respondents agreeing that the Government should introduce laws controlling the ways food and drink companies can use AI technology to design and manufacture their products. Just six percent disagreed with this.

A majority of respondents (52%) agreed with the general point that AI technology is a positive development that will benefit humanity, with 21 percent disagreeing. However, when asked how they felt about the use of AI specifically to design and produce food and beverage products, fewer respondents (42%) said they felt positively about this, with 27 percent saying they felt negatively.

Just under half of respondents (44%) said they believed that a food or beverage product made with the help of AI might be less safe to consume. However, they were split on whether they would be more or less likely to buy a food or beverage product made with the help of AI. Just over a quarter (26%) said they would be more likely to do so, with 29% stating they would be less likely.

The survey also revealed a distinct generational split. A majority of Generation Z and Millennial respondents felt positively about the use of AI in the food industry (65% and 57%, respectively). The corresponding figure among Generation X and Boomers was markedly lower – 44 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

Richard Clarke, Managing Director of Ingredient Communications, commented: “Many food and beverage companies have rushed to embrace the benefits of AI technology but it’s important they take care to consider how consumers feel about this. We’ve seen a huge backlash against AI in the arts and entertainment business. To avoid the same fate, food and beverage manufacturers should pause to reflect on whether they are being sufficiently transparent about their use of AI.”

He continued: “As we saw 30 years ago with the furore over the safety of genetically modified crops, it’s easy for misinformation to spread and stir up fear. Food and beverage companies would be wise to implement a communications strategy to ensure the public is kept informed about the ways in which they harness the power of AI tech.”

Other takeaways from the survey included 79 percent of respondents agreeing that savings made by food and beverage companies through the use of AI should be passed on to shoppers in the form of lower retail prices.

However, sentiment shifted if this came at the expense of employment, with 40 percent considering it unacceptable if the use of AI technology to design and manufacture a food or beverage product meant somebody lost their job – even products were cheaper as a result. A third of respondents (33%) considered this an acceptable outcome.

¹ Online survey of 1,040 consumers in the UK and USA, conducted October 2024