Exploring the influence of ‘artificial intelligence’ mentions in advertising and persuasion knowledge on brand skepticism, perceived manipulativeness, and purchase intention

This study investigated the tactic of explicitly mentioning ‘artificial intelligence’ in advertising as a creative claim meant to influence consumer perceptions and decision-making. The persuasion knowledge model (PKM) informed two experiments that employed a single factor between-subjects design (manipulation vs control). The general findings are mixed on the effectiveness of the strategy, as experiment 1 (N = 303) found that when using a fictitious brand, the ad that explicitly mentioned AI was judged more manipulative and garnered less purchase intention. However, the opposite was found in experiment 2 (N = 306), as the manipulation was more effective than the control in garnering purchase intention. Meanwhile, AI literacy (as topic knowledge) and brand familiarity (as agent knowledge) positively relate to purchase intention. Lastly, only manipulative intent, and not skepticism, was found to negatively mediate the relationship between exposure to the advertisement and purchase intention (albeit only in experiment 1). These findings suggest that a more well-known brand may benefit from this novel advertising strategy.