Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their own ability to successfully achieve a specific task or goal. A person with higher self-efficacy is likely to be more motivated and willing to take on challenging tasks, persist in the face of adversity, and recover quickly from setbacks. Self-efficacy in the context of artificial intelligence (AISE) refers to how confident users feel about using and adopting AI tools. When an AI tool is perceived as reliable, trustworthy, and widely adopted, users are more likely to feel confident in their ability to use it successfully. This paper explores the effect preconceptions, based solely on the name of the tool, have on people’s assessment of the AI tool. We find if an AI tool is widely known or if the name of the AI tool specifically mentions the task, people will assess the tool higher, even if the tool is not better in reality. Therefore, a person’s preconceptions affect their self-efficacy.