The double-edged sword effect of AI autonomy on tourists' continuance usage intention: Based on conservation of resources theory

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) empowers tourists by improving their decision-making efficiency, while simultaneously undermining their sense of autonomy and control, thereby producing disempowering effects. The pathways and mechanisms underlying these effects require in-depth exploration. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study investigates the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of how AI autonomy influences tourists' continuance usage intention in travel contexts. A total of 318 valid samples were collected via the Credamo platform, and a moderated mediation model was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that AI autonomy positively influences tourists' continuance usage intention through cognitive offloading, while simultaneously exerting a negative influence through loss of control. Perceived AI explainability serves as a significant moderator: it positively moderates the relationship between AI autonomy and cognitive offloading, while attenuating the relationship between AI autonomy and loss of control. This study not only enriches theoretical research on AI empowerment in tourism contexts but also provides practical guidance for tourism enterprises to optimize AI tool design and achieve effective AI empowerment.