This study examines how the use of AI-generated content in news reporting affects user trust, with a particular focus on Aftonbladets AI-generated text summaries. Through a qualitative study consisting of an experiment where participants rated both AI-generated and journalistic written texts and a subsequent interview, factors that influenced their perceptions of trust were analyzed.

The study found that participants tend to be more skeptical of content when aware that AI has been involved even though the texts cannot always be distinguished from human writing. When participants assumed that the content was created by a journalist it was rated more reliable. The results show that trust is also influenced by users previous experience with AI and their awareness of the origin of the source. The study emphasizes the importance of transparency and a conscious management of AI to successfully integrate AI into journalismin a way that preserves user trust for the content.