The Influence of Age on the Perception of AI-Generated Advertisements : A Study on the Age Differences in Marketing and Development of a Theoretical Model

Sammanfattning

The marketing process has undergone significant changes over the years, due to new technologies. Among these advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly used to generate advertising messages and images. This study examines consumers' perceptions of AI-generated advertisements, with a focus on the influence of age. Participants were divided into two groups, with one group believing the ads were human-created and the other assuming they were AI-generated. Results indicated that perceived ad falsity led to more negative perceptions. However, younger individuals exhibited more favorable attitudes toward AI-generated ads compared to older individuals. Despite an overall negative bias towards AI-generated ads, one AI-generated ad was received as most positively across all age groups, supporting prior research that AI-generated content can be well-received. A theoretical model was built and tested to explore the relationship between age and ad perception, suggesting that prior experience with AI, attitudes towards AI, and AI credibility sequentially mediate this relationship. While the effect of machine heuristics was found to be nonsignificant, it did influence AI credibility, indicating potential avenues for future research.