As AI becomes more prevalent in marketing, customer expectations around trust are intensifying. According to Salesforce research, 68% of customers say advances in AI make it more important for companies to be trustworthy. For product marketers, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity to differentiate through transparency and ethical AI practices.
Building Trust in the AI Era
Salesforce recommends that brands use a "trust layer" to ensure first-party data grounding is safe, mitigates bias, and doesn't leak confidential data into open platforms. This technical consideration has marketing implications: PMMs must understand and communicate how their products use AI responsibly, and how their own AI-powered marketing respects customer privacy.
The opportunity for PMMs is clear. In a market where customers are increasingly skeptical of AI applications, brands that lead with transparency about their AI practices can build competitive advantage. This means clear communication about data usage, honest representation of AI capabilities, and genuine commitment to customer privacy. Trust is becoming a key differentiator that product marketers can own.