Is AI Suitable to Speak About Morality? Consumer Response to AI-Generated Moral Appeals in the Case of Fair Trade Products

Abstract

Newswise — While marketing can refer to morality, it remains insufficiently explained how consumers respond to AI-generated moral appeals. Motivated by that gap, the current research applied incongruity theory to investigate the effect of moral appeal presence on the persuasiveness of AI (vs. human) product advice in two experiments (N = 445), manipulating moral appeal presence in fair-trade product messages. The effect of moral appeal presence on purchase intent through message-source fit was more positive when the product recommendation was provided by humans (vs. AI) (Study 1). For AI-generated advice, the effect of moral appeal presence on AI advice following intent through message-source fit was less negative when the AI agent was perceived as more anthropomorphized, and AI superiority belief was higher (Study 2). The results extend the knowledge of consumer response to AI and the role of incongruity in AI perception. Marketers are guided on how to involve moral appeals in AI communication.

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