LinkedIn Reveals Why Professionals Still Trust People Over AI

A recent LinkedIn study landed like a splash of cold water: in the era of AI hype, we still lean on real humans first. It’s refreshing—almost comforting—to see that, despite the shiny promises of algorithms, a trusted colleague’s two cents still holds more weight than a chatbot response or a Google search.

Professionals crave human clarity

They’re overwhelmed. Seriously. Half of those surveyed say learning AI feels like taking on a second full-time gig. No wonder there’s been an 82% surge in LinkedIn posts about feeling swamped and off-balance this year. Who hasn’t spent a Saturday night Googling “What is GPT-4?” only to close your laptop feeling even more clueless?

Networks outperform search

When pressed for advice, 43% of professionals turn to someone they know—over search engines and AI tools. It’s not about technophobia. It’s about speed and trust. A quick Teams message can cut through jargon in seconds. A search result? You might need to sift through half-a-dozen pages, and possibly stumble down a rabbit hole of conflicting blog posts.

Confidence through colleagues

Nearly two-thirds (64%) say colleagues help them decide faster and with more conviction. I can’t count the number of times a Slack ping—something as simple as “Hey, have you tried this?”—saved me from launching a campaign based on half-baked data. There’s something galvanizing about a coworker saying, “Go for it,” or “Maybe rethink that.”

The emotional toll of AI upskilling

Learning AI isn’t glamorous. One-third of professionals admit they’re downright embarrassed by how little they understand it. Another 35% tiptoe around AI conversations for fear of looking uninformed. That knot-in-your-stomach feeling? It’s real. And it’s wearing people down: 41% report that the breakneck pace of AI change is denting their wellbeing.

Millennials and Gen Z’s pressure cooker

Younger employees feel it hardest. Gen Z professionals are nearly twice as likely as their Gen X peers to inflate or even fabricate their AI prowess at work. A little white lie here, a vague boast there—anything to keep up appearances. But in that rush to impress, we risk undermining the very trust we claim to value.

These generations now account for 71% of B2B buyers. They’re not saying “no thanks” to brand content outright, but they crave the candid reflections of colleagues. A striking 75% of those aged 18–24 insist there’s simply no tech substitute for the gut instincts they pick up from trusted teammates.

Brands recalibrate for community-powered trust

For marketers, this pivot to peer-driven insight is seismic. LinkedIn posts are up 41% over three years, a clear sign people are hungrier than ever for daily, human-crafted guidance. And 77% of B2B marketing leaders acknowledge that buyers can’t be won over by brand channels alone—they rely on conversations with peers.

Doubling down on creators

To meet these expectations, 80% of marketers are boosting investments in community-driven content—think creators, employees, subject-matter experts—and another 80% say that those voices are essential for younger buyers to even consider a brand credible. It’s a bit like crowd-sourcing your reputation: the more authentic voices you tap, the stronger your echo.

LinkedIn’s BrandLink takes center stage

Enter BrandLink’s new “Shows by LinkedIn,” where AT&T Business, IBM, SAP, and ServiceNow each host their own mini-series. From Small Business Builders to The CEO Playbook, these shows aim to mix branded insight with creator-driven authenticity. It feels like B2B infotainment—only with more spreadsheets and fewer lip-sync battles.

And LinkedIn isn’t stopping there. BBC Studios, BNR, TED, The Economist, and Vox Media have joined the BrandLink network, giving brands unprecedented reach through context-rich, publisher-curated content. It’s as if your favorite news outlets and your go-to experts teamed up to build a bespoke channel just for you.

The takeaway? We’re all navigating a messy, exhilarating AI age. But when the noise gets deafening, we still turn to voices we know. Isn’t that reassuring? After all, trust wasn’t built overnight—and it won’t be replaced by code any time soon.

What do you think? Have you leaned on your network to make a tough call recently?

Drop your story in the comments below, and let’s keep the conversation going. Follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), or LinkedIn for more insights on community-powered marketing.

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Sources:

• www.news.linkedin.com/2025/networks–not-ai-or-search–are-the–1-trusted-source-amid-infor