Engaging the unengaged: Differential effects of AI-driven climate communication across audiences

Despite the urgent need for widespread climate action, current communication approaches have a limited impact, especially on less engaged audiences. To address this issue, we examined the effectiveness of AI-driven climate communication in influencing pro-environmental intentions and intentions to adapt to climate change (Study 1; laboratory setting, N = 178), as well as participants’ likelihood of engaging with the communication material in the first place (Study 2; online setting; N = 295). In Study 1, both AI-driven and textual climate communication formats increased pro-environmental and adaptation intentions from pre- to post-intervention. Importantly, the effectiveness of the different communication formats depended on audience characteristics: the textual communication was more effective for highly climate-curious participants, while the AI-driven communication was more effective for individuals less curious about climate change. Study 2 further showed that AI-driven climate communication was perceived as more engaging than a comprehensive textual scientific climate report. This was particularly pronounced for participants with lower climate change curiosity and threat beliefs. We conclude that more experiential communication formats like AI-driven climate communication may help engage and impact previously unengaged audiences. • We evaluate AI-driven climate communication across two studies. • AI-driven communication increases pro-environmental and adaptation intentions. • AI-driven communication formats increase engagement with climate communication. • AI-driven communication especially benefits less engaged audiences