The Framing Matters
Activates distrust
"An AI was involved in your review process."
Vague, passive, sounds like a confession. Triggers privacy and objectivity fears.
Builds trust
"I use AI to help organize my notes and check that my feedback is specific and consistent. It does not decide your rating, and your personal information never goes into it."
Specific about what it does AND what it does not decide. The second part is key.
What your team has a right to know
When AI touches a process that affects them, what it is used for, and what remains a human decision. Disclose with that framing, not as a confession and not as an afterthought. The "what it does not decide" part is what turns a potential trust hit into a trust builder.
The Evidence
Research shows transparency about AI decision-making can increase trust when reasoning is visible (PMC, 2022). But a 2025 study found that in some contexts, disclosing AI use reduced trust by activating privacy and objectivity concerns. The implication: explain not just that you used AI, but why, and what it is not deciding.
Dana's story
Dana starts using AI to help structure performance summaries. Rather than saying nothing (which risks the team finding out and feeling deceived) or saying a vague "AI helped with reviews" (which spikes the privacy and objectivity fears the research warns about), Dana is specific: "I use AI to help organize my notes and check that my feedback is specific and consistent. It does not decide your rating, and your personal information never goes into it." The specificity, especially the "what it does not decide" part, turns a potential trust hit into a trust builder.
Apply It Today
Draft, in your own head or your own notes, the one sentence you would tell your team about how you use AI in a process that affects them, including what it does not decide. Plan to actually say it.
Reflect