AI Is Creating a Trust Gap in Business Email, Exclaimer Research Finds
New research finds businesses face growing pressure to prove who is behind every email as AI-generated communication
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BOSTON, July 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Exclaimer, the global leader in email signature management, has released research showing that AI is weakening a basic assumption of business communication: that a polished, professional email reflects the authority and identity of the person who sent it.
The nationally representative OnePoll study of 1,000 US adults found that 65% now use AI in some aspect of their communications. At the same time, 36% have questioned whether a message they received was genuine, while 14% say they do not trust emails from external companies at all. The findings point to a growing gap between how credible an email appears and how confidently recipients can verify who is behind it.
“The findings show that AI isn’t reducing the importance of trust in business communications but how people establish it,” said Laura Wilkinson, VP of Global Marketing, at Exclaimer. “When anyone can generate a polished, professional email in seconds, recipients look beyond the words for proof that a message is genuine. For businesses, email governance is more important than ever. And trust comes from giving every email a clear, verifiable identity that customers, employees, and partners can recognize and rely on.”
AI is in the inbox and not just for productivity
AI has quickly become a routine part of how Americans communicate. Nearly two-thirds (65%) now use AI in some aspect of their communications, most commonly to improve grammar and spelling (20%) or make their writing sound more professional (19%).
But the research suggests AI is doing more than helping people write better. It is increasingly shaping how they present themselves. Sixteen percent use AI to sound more confident in their communications, 12% use it to soften difficult messages, 10% use it to avoid awkward conversations, and 9% use it to hide uncertainty. That means the tone of an email may no longer reliably reflect the sender’s own judgment or authority.
The more professional the email looks, the easier it is to trust
Trust in company email is already under pressure. More than a third (36%) say they have questioned whether a message they received was genuine, while 14% do not trust emails from external companies at all.
That uncertainty is changing what we look for when deciding whether to believe an email. Rather than relying solely on the quality of the writing, recipients increasingly judge the sender. Full contact details (40%), a professional email address on a company domain (35%), and a clear sender name (30%) are the strongest trust signals.
One finding stands out. Nearly one in four (23%) say a professional, branded email signature makes a company email feel more trustworthy. They ranked it ahead of legal disclaimers (17%) and consistent formatting (16%), suggesting that recipients see the signature as more than a visual flourish.
A verified company domain, a named individual, and a consistent branded signature help recipients distinguish between a message that simply looks convincing and one that comes from a real, identifiable, and accountable person.
Email continues to carry some of the most important communications between organizations and the employees and customers they serve. It is the preferred channel for employer updates (35%), formal complaints to a company (33%), and healthcare information (27%). Its value also lies in permanence. When employees need information they can keep or refer back to, 43% choose email, more than twice the proportion who select any other platform. A further 33% have deliberately used email instead of another channel because they wanted a permanent record.
When recipients cannot tell whether a message is genuine or identify the person responsible for sending it, the reliability of that communication begins to break down.
Sender identity is becoming business infrastructure
The platform carrying a message already influences how people receive it. Forty-three percent say the channel affects how trustworthy a communication feels, while 39% say it shapes their view of its professionalism and authenticity.
For businesses, securing the domain is no longer enough. Organizations also need consistent control over how sender identity is presented in every email, including the name, contact details, company information, and the attached signature. As AI makes professional communication easier to produce at scale, governance must ensure that every message can still be traced to a real person, a legitimate organization, and an accountable source.
Access Exclaimer’s full When it Matters: How People Really Communicate study.
Read our blog here.
About Exclaimer
Exclaimer is the global leader in email signature management for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Its cloud platform enables organizations to centrally manage and automate email signatures and video meeting branding, ensuring consistent corporate identity, reducing brand and compliance risk, and meeting regulatory requirements across everyday business communications. Built for IT and valued by Marketing and Compliance teams, Exclaimer eliminates manual updates, enforces brand governance, and gives organizations greater control over their most critical business communication channels.
Exclaimer is trusted by more than 9 million users across 85,000 organizations worldwide, including Sony, Mattel, Bank of America, NBC, the Government of Canada, the BBC, and the Academy Awards.
Learn more at www.exclaimer.com or follow Exclaimer on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
Media relations contacts:
Exclaimer: press@exclaimer.com
US agency: exclaimerpr@watersagency.com
