From UGC to human AI: your customers are your next influencers

The new deal: trust + power

In 2025, traditional advertising is no longer enough. Recall rates are plummeting, attention spans are short, and mistrust is at an all-time high. In this context, one lever is emerging as reliable, engaging, and massively effective: user-generated content, or UGC.

Why? Because it combines emotional authenticity and social relevance. A satisfied customer who shares their experience is more than just a testimonial: it is social validation, a credible recommendation, a reflection of proximity.

And when this content is amplified by AI, it changes scale. It becomes reproducible, multi-format, customizable—and above all, scalable without losing its sincerity.

Quelque exemples concrets dans le monde montrent que l’UGC donne la confiance, l’IA donne la puissance, et qu'ensemble, ils offrent aux marques une arme redoutable pour regagner attention, crédibilité… et performance.

Some concrete examples from around the world show that UGC builds trust, AI provides power, and together they offer brands a formidable weapon to regain attention, credibility... and performance.

• Unilever (Global): used user quotes to build Dove and Persil campaigns, where AI was used to create variations of visuals and scripts. Result: a Dove UGC campaign generated over 3.5 billion impressions in 15 countries.

• Lululemon (United States): incorporated video reviews from its most loyal customers into its TikTok and YouTube campaigns, doubling its click-through rate while reducing CPA by 27%.

• Decathlon (France/Spain): collaborates with micro-influencers who are customers (unpaid) to create mini-reviews broadcast in post-roll on local OTT platforms, coupled with a QR code. The advertising recall rate jumped by +41% compared to traditional commercials.

• IKEA (Germany): launched a campaign in which each 20-second TV commercial was followed by a 5-second clip showing a verified customer quote, automatically generated from e-commerce reviews, with an average rating displayed on screen. This resulted in a 12% increase in e-commerce conversion rates for the products concerned.

Why does it work?

UGC is not a trend: it is a structural transformation of the relationship between brands and consumers. And the figures speak for themselves:

• 95% of consumers consult online reviews before finalizing a purchase.

• 49% give these reviews as much credit as a recommendation from a friend or family member.

• Integrating UGC into a marketing strategy can generate up to an average of 18% more sales.

But in 2025, UGC is no longer limited to a star rating on a product page or a comment buried in a thread. It has become content in its own right, scripted, multi-format, designed for distribution: TV commercials, press inserts, YouTube clips, native banners, TikTok stories... It is curated, stylized, and sometimes even remixed by AI to be reused in different contexts.

What a good brand content manager does today is often what an entire advertising agency did yesterday—except that it is no longer the creative team speaking, but the customer.

UGC is not only credible, but also highly effective—because it speaks accurately, quickly, and at the right time. It is this hybridization of human emotion and algorithmic precision that makes it the most comprehensive marketing tool available today.

The winning formula: real customers + creative AI

Imagine :

• A customer shares a photo of your product.

• AI extracts the most engaging quote and formats it.

• The whole thing becomes a 5-second mini-ad broadcast on TV, on your DOOH, or in digital instream.

• Bonus: a QR code tracks engagement and feeds your CRM.

Unilever did it: over 3.5 billion impressions generated with AI-amplified UGC content in its Dove campaigns (source).

What about the limits?

AI-enhanced UGC is a powerful tool... provided you remain aware of the areas where caution is required. If used incorrectly, it can lose all its power and even become counterproductive. Here are the three main pitfalls to avoid.

1. Authenticity: AI is a tool, not an actor
   What makes UGC so powerful is its human and sincere dimension. AI can help structure, expand, and amplify—but it must never distort or “rewrite” the reality of the testimonial. The customer remains the hero, and their words must remain recognizable, even when enriched.

   ➡️ A polished or overly perfect transcript loses all credibility. Content that is too “branded” looks like just another advertisement.

2. Consent: nothing without clear validation

   Using a review, photo, or video from a consumer involves rights and responsibilities. All content included in a campaign (TV, digital, press) must be approved by its author, with a clear and traceable agreement.

   ➡️ BuyTryShare is committed to complying with the rules of the NF ISO 20488 standard on online review management—a rigorous framework that guarantees transparency.

3. Overuse: avoid saturation

   If you try too hard to exploit UGC, you can ruin its magic. If every ad, every post, every activation is based on the same 10 recycled reviews, the message loses its impact. You need to strike a balance, vary the formats, and above all, continuously renew the content.

   ➡️ UGC is not a stock to be depleted, it is a flow to be stimulated.

In summary, UGC is powerful because it is rare, sincere, and embodied. Making it a strategic resource does not mean industrializing it: it means framing it with respect, creativity, and a clear ethical framework.

Conclusion: influence belongs to those who buy

Influencer marketing is undergoing a transformation. Gone are the days of superficial influencers with carefully crafted messages and partnerships that are sometimes disconnected from reality. The new influencers are already here—they are your customers.

Ils connaissent vos produits. Ils les utilisent. Ils les aiment (ou parfois non). Et surtout : ils ont la légitimité de l’expérience. Leur avis est plus que du contenu : c’est un acte de confiance, une preuve sociale puissante, et une opportunité de créer du lien.

They know your products. They use them. They love them (or sometimes they don't). And above all, they have the legitimacy of experience. Their reviews are more than just content: they are an act of trust, powerful social proof, and an opportunity to build relationships.

With BuyTryShare, you don't just collect these reviews. You leverage them, integrate them into your campaigns, and distribute them where they have the most impact—in both mass media and digital media. And you do so with complete transparency, clear ROI measurement, and strict adherence to authenticity.

The result: credible, engaging, and profitable advertising that reconnects your messages with the real expectations of your audiences.

Ready to take action? Want to test the mechanics on one or more brands? Build a pilot campaign? Measure the concrete benefits of UGC amplified by BuyTryShare?

Let's activate your first PoC together.

Our team supports you every step of the way, from selecting customer ambassadors to media distribution and post-campaign analysis..

👉 Contact us today to create advertising that your customers will want to listen to.