A survey conducted at Carlisle Racecourse in July - where 200 local business leaders gathered for the FSB Cumbria Catalyst Bootcamp - found that almost 88 per cent of Cumbria SMEs were now leaning on AI for marketing functions. "The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's 2025 AI Adoption Research found that 72 per cent of UK businesses using or planning to use AI have identified marketing as a target area. The issue, however, is that consumers have responded just as quickly - and many of them are already suspicious of AI in marketing. 65 per cent say AI content is obvious enough to provoke laughter. "Mentions in the media of AI slop are up ninefold in twelve months," says Gray.