The research found that two-thirds of business-to-business (B2B) decision-makers felt that trust in business has become more important, with more than half believing it had become much more important.

Companies which measured trust as a board-level KPI were believed to be more than three times more likely to report stronger profits than those that do not, the IPA and FT said.

Trust was deemed the second most powerful metric, after product or service quality, for driving key business outcomes such as profit, market share and acquisition. This is up from sixth place 20 years ago.

The research found that 60% of respondents, rising to 70% of those under 45, are more likely to trust a brand if its ads appear in ‘gatekeeper’ media, such as business news brands, rather than brands and platforms with user-generated content.

In addition, 69% of business decision-makers disagreed with the statement that “trusting a piece of technology is the same as trusting a human”, and only 9% said they trusted generative AI.

The Bridging the Trust Gap report draws on insights from more than 750 global B2B decision-makers who are part of the FT reader panel, a group of senior leaders from around the world who regularly share feedback, opinions and perspectives on a range of topics.

Laurence Green, director of effectiveness at the IPA, said: “While attention has previously been paid largely to the notion of trusted communication, or trusted brand – both of which spring from emotional connection rather than some rational calculation – there is now more scrutiny than ever of the role of trusted media as carriers for messaging.

“This study adds to the body of evidence that trust matters, and that advertisers can and should factor the trustworthiness of the media they fund into their calculations. But it is also a wider, bi-partisan reminder that the advertising business is built on trust.”

FT chief executive Jon Slade added: “Trust has too often been viewed as intangible and unmeasurable by business, overlooked in favour of profit and margins, which are readily conveyable to the board.

“Our firsthand research demonstrates that companies which measure trust as a board-level KPI are believed to be over three times more likely to report stronger profits than those that don’t.”