TLDR
Deloitte's survey of more than 2,000 Australians finds 84% want AI-generated content labelled by law and 71% would stop using a platform that failed to disclose its AI use. National news publishers keep a clear trust lead over AI-generated news, and Australians are spending more time with news.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The trust gap
Deloitte's 15th Media & Entertainment Consumer Insights report, based on a survey of more than 2,000 Australians aged 16 to 91 in July and August 2026, finds that 79% consider national Australian news publishers at least moderately trustworthy. For news generated on AI platforms the figure is 38%.[2]
The split runs along generational lines, though only for the newer sources. Gen Z is far more willing to trust AI-generated news than Boomers (49% against 21%), yet the two generations give national publishers almost identical marks, 79% and 80%.[2]
"Traditional news publishers have a clear trust premium over AI-generated news," said Peter Corbett, lead partner for telecommunications, media and technology at Deloitte Australia. "Australians are more willing to trust AI content when a human has reviewed and edited it."[3]
Labels, by law
Three in four respondents (75%) say AI content makes it harder to know what is real online. Some 84% want platforms and publishers legally required to label AI-generated content, and 71% say they would stop using a platform that failed to clearly disclose its AI use.[1][3]
Deloitte cautions that its figures are self-reported, so the 71% is a statement of intent rather than a measure of churn.[4] The direction is still consistent with other recent surveys: Australians told Auros that AI ads had misled them, and TikTok has labelled 3 billion videos as AI as it courts advertisers.
What it means for publishers
AI search is changing how readers reach the news. Some 57% say AI search summaries make searching easier and lead them to search more often, but around one in ten say they no longer click through to the source after reading a summary.[3]
Australians are spending more time with news, not less. Weekly news and magazine time rose to 2 hours 30 minutes from 2 hours 5 minutes in 2025, while total media and entertainment time held at 45 hours 20 minutes. Too much advertising (25%) and paywalls (22%) were the biggest barriers to accessing news.[4]
Spending is moving the other way. Average monthly household subscription spend fell 6% to $73 from $78, even though households now hold 3.8 subscriptions on average. "Households are not constrained by what they think is reasonable to spend. They are actively choosing to spend less," the report says.[2]
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What did Deloitte find about AI labelling?
Do Australians trust AI-generated news?
How much do households spend on subscriptions?
James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
