The six faces of trust: Takeaways from our In AI we Trust event

The team at Truth Consulting were delighted to work alongside Life Moments to design and execute what turned out to be an amazing event in early March 2026 – In AI We Trust. The catalyst for this event was a pilot event held in Spring 2025 and which explored the intersection of AI and ‘consumers’ – real human beings.  In the latest event, the focus was tighter: we looked at trust in the context of deepening implementation (and possibilities) of AI within Financial Services (FS).

AI, FS and human beings are core to what we ‘do’ at Truth Consulting. We help businesses understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in the roll-out of technologies – from smart homes to new digital devices. Our FS work focuses on a range of key areas, not least how to engage and serve ‘customers’ in an ever-changing and highly competitive consumer landscape. And AI is increasingly at the centre of almost everything!

Clash of the Titans: when trust meets AI

At Truth Consulting we see the current world as defined by the interlocking of ‘nervous systems’ – from politics and society to technology and economy. In this nervous interlocking, a myriad of unplanned, unexpected and unintended consequences are routinely produced. Nothing is certain anymore. Change is rapid and unpredictable. Our job is to help businesses succeed amidst highly nervous systems.

Two of the major disruptors in all of this are trust and AI. Across large swathes of the world, trust is being challenged, eroded and made problematic. Many people, particularly in the UK, Europe and the Americas, no longer trust the traditional pillars of society; politicians and government are ridiculed, business is seen as self-centred and lacking empathy, societies have become tinderboxes of grievance, hate and hostility.

We talked in the session about the reality that ‘UN-TRUST’ is now a ‘cultural dominant’; un-trust should be our departure point when assessing where we are currently. Assuming the existence of trust (without intervention) is now dated and majorly unhelpful. Our start-point, our degree zero, should be the assumption of a world without trust.

Bringing these two titans together – AI and trust - is both important and a catalyst to really understanding some of the fundamental human challenges we are seeing, and will see, in the world. Overlaying this is the ‘spectre’ of Financial Services – a sector with historical trust challenges and now in the midst of what could be called an AI revolution.

The six faces of trust

One of the problems with talk about trust is that it is too often pitched at an unhelpful level of generality. As a concept, it becomes weak, ‘fluffy’, lacking precision and, ultimately, something that it’s hard to do much about (outside of making broad, sweeping comments).

The reality is that ‘trust’ is multi-faceted; a richly layered human experience and mind-set, not a simple, uniform and static concept.  This is why, drawing upon many years researching and working with real people, Truth Consulting came up with the ‘six faces of trust’ that we believe are most relevant in the context of AI in Financial Services.

1. Earned Favour - Trust is no longer simply given – it is earned. If those working in the FS space are truly interested in understanding (and building) trust, then the question ‘what have we done to earn consumer trust’ needs to be asked and answered. As part of this, there need to be proof points in place of ungrounded make-believe. 

2. Clean Windows - Transparency is critical to generating trust. People want to think and feel that the relationship they have with FS businesses is honest and open.  Why, precisely, is AI being brought into the ‘equation’? People need to feel that they are seeing the full picture – no hidden information. There is now a deep-rooted cynicism that important realities are often purposefully hidden in plain sight.  Generating trust requires making the hidden visible.

3. Mattering Me - People increasingly feel that they are just a number. AI could exacerbate this – e.g. by removing real people from interactions. What will you do to help people think and feel that they matter to you? And that your increased use of AI augments this ‘mattering’, rather than being a manifestation of the opposite?  How will you counter the common belief that AI drives further consumer anonymity?

4. Make Believe - Un-trust is now a ‘cultural dominant’; it is the start point for much interaction. People simply don’t trust you, at least not to the extent that they once did. It is incumbent upon FS businesses to help people believe again. A belief rooted in an acknowledgement (and proof) that people matter. Importantly, belief is felt much more than it is rationalised; what are you doing to help people feel belief in you (through your implementation and use of AI)?

5. Giving Givers - We often ask a lot from ‘consumers’; their data is commoditised and monetised. This is their gift to business. But as we know all too well, gifting is ideally reciprocal, unless we want the relationship to crumble. What are you giving to consumers in return for what they give you? How does AI fit into this giving?

6. Recovering Well - The utilisation of AI in FS will inevitably have points of failure.  Whether such failures are down to “hallucinations” or the fact that a particular system of AI never wants to admit ignorance, matters little. What does matter is how you recover from this failure. Organisations historically lauded for their ‘customer service’ are often exemplified and illustrated through stories of what they did when things went wrong. This recovering sticks in the mind and makes heroes out of negative experiences. What’s your plan for recovery (and trust building) when your AI fails (which it will)?

Making humans matter more

In our rush to exploit the benefits of AI in Financial Services, we run the risk of creating a toxic storm where consumers feel further exploited. It will be vital to take a step back and think about what we are doing and particularly around the impact that our use of AI will have on consumer perception (and trust) around us. The good news is that there are simple things that can make a big difference. As Simon Sinek suggests:

“When you explain to people what you're trying to do, as opposed to just making demands or delegating tasks, you can build instant trust, even if it's just for that short time you're on the phone.”

There is an element of over-simplification in what Sinek says, but he is right to say that openness is both important and rewarding. Telling people about what you are doing with AI (and why) is a critical first step.  Bring ‘customers’ on the journey with you. Be clear about the benefits to them (there must be benefits in the shift for consumers).

So What? Consumer Duty and brand building

The introduction of Consumer Duty (CD) by the FCA has led to some significant rethinking of the ways in which ‘consumers’ are treated by FS organisations. The emergence of AI within FS makes CD even more relevant and important. The sector should embrace these changes as an opportunity for a fundamental repositioning of FS within the lives of consumers. AI can be harnessed as part of the solution rather than a catalyst for the creation of further problems that require solving.

It does seem as though it’s impossible to separate the challenges around the introduction of AI (in terms of consumer trust) from the broader issue of consumer disengagement with Financial Services per se. FS is burdened with perception baggage that is often highly negative. People struggle to relate to FS businesses in a similar way to how they would, for example, to fashion, automotive or technology brands.

So, as we are considering how to build trust around AI in Financial Services, we should be linking this to the fundamental question ‘how do we build better FS brands in general’?  Strong, meaningful brands will be able to work with consumers and AI in a more nuanced and trusted way. Without brands that really matter, and that work hard to engage on an emotional as well as rational level, transformational technologies like AI will continue to represent potential jeopardy as much as hope.

Please get in touch

If you commission research and insight into AI, Financial Services, technology or are interested in deconstructing consumer trust, please get in touch. We work globally for many blue-chip clients and would love to hear from you!