From Nike and Google to Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, major brands are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their advertising campaigns. But how do consumers feel about robots generating emotionally-charged marketing content? That’s the question a New York Institute of Technology professor poses in a new study in the Journal of Business Research.
Predictive AI allows marketers to predict consumer behavior, while generative AI allows them to create new content such as text, images, video, and audio. For example, a recent AI-generated commercial for Toys R Us featured a video of the company’s founder as a boy alongside the brand’s mascot, Jeffrey the Giraffe. While many brands tout AI-powered campaigns as a sign of innovation, others may not disclose their use of AI, resulting in ethical concerns and government regulations. There is a growing demand for But as Google experienced when viewers were offended by its “Dear Sydney” ad, in which a father uses AI to help his daughter draft a fan letter to her favorite Olympian, transparency Even some brands receive backlash.
“AI is new territory for brand marketers, but what we do know is that consumers highly value authentic interactions with brands,” said the study’s lead author. says Colleen Kirk, author and DPS professor of marketing management. “More companies are now using AI-generated content to strengthen engagement and attachment to their brands, but we investigated how consumers view the trustworthiness of robot-generated text content. There is no research.”
Kirk and her study co-author, Dr. Julian Zibi, a marketing researcher and faculty member at West Virginia University, will examine how consumers react when emotional messages are written by AI. Completed various experiments. They hypothesized that consumers would view emotionally charged AI-generated content less favorably, impacting their perception of the brand and their desire to interact with it.
In one scenario, participants imagined receiving a heartfelt message from a fitness salesperson who helped them purchase a new set of weights. The message said it was inspired by a consumer purchase, with some participants believing it was generated by AI and others believing it was created by the salesman himself. (control group). While members of the control group responded favorably, members of the AI group felt that the memo violated their moral principles (moral disgust). As a result, this group was also less likely to recommend the store to others and more likely to switch brands for future purchases. Many people also gave the restaurant bad reviews on mock review sites.
Other scenarios also revealed important findings that support the researchers’ hypothesis.
Fact-based communications (compared to emotional communications) generated by AI are less likely to evoke moral disgust, reduce positive word-of-mouth, and reduce consumer brand loyalty. I did. AI-generated messages where robots had autonomy (e.g., an AI-generated memo signed by “The Summit Apparel AI Chatbot”) were viewed more favorably than AI-generated messages signed by a company representative . Participants expressed disgust that they believed most emotional marketing communications were written by AI. The opposite was true when they believed that most communications were written by humans. Brands may therefore benefit from promoting the human origins of their products and communications. Messages that are simply edited (not written) by the AI have a lower credibility penalty. Human communicators (vs. AI) faced a greater “trust penalty” by copying emotional content.
In summary, the findings suggest that companies should always prioritize trust in their interactions with consumers and carefully consider whether and how to disclose AI-generated communications. Masu. Marketers will need to pay close attention to the findings as governments tighten regulations on AI disclosure and seek to make consumers more aware of how brands craft their messages. Kirk says.
“Consumers are increasingly skeptical of the human origins of marketing communications. Our research shows that using AI to generate emotional content can improve brand perception. While AI tools offer much-needed insight into how they can be negatively impacted and, in turn, negatively impact the relationships with consumers that support revenue, AI tools offer marketers new ground. , professionals must keep in mind the proven principle that reliability is always best,” she says.
