Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Marketing Content: Evidence from an Experimental Survey

Abstract

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has created new opportunities for digital marketing, particularly in short video advertising. However, consumer acceptance of AI-generated advertisements remains uncertain because of the concerns over authenticity, trust and emotional connection. This study investigates how consumers respond to short video advertisements created by AI and humans through comparing evaluations and identifying factors that influence engagement intention and purchase intention. A quantitative survey was conducted with 179 participants, where respondents evaluated both advertisement formats. Reliability analysis, multiple linear regression models, paired samples t-tests, and qualitative analysis of open-ended responses were applied. The results show that human-created advertisements received much higher evaluations in authenticity, trust, visual appeal, professionalism, engagement intention, and purchase intention, while informativeness showed no significant difference. Regression results further indicate that trust is the strongest factor influencing consumer responses towards AI-generated advertisements. These findings indicate that businesses should balance AI efficiency and human creativity to improve consumer acceptance and advertising effectiveness.