People think AI-generated ads are ‘annoying’, ‘boring’ and ‘confusing’, but a new study has found that they don’t mind them as much when the brand demonstrates ‘leadership for the greater good’.
‘Leadership for the greater good’, the study authors explain, focuses on the wellbeing of society in addition to the success of an organisation by, for example, prioritising environmentally sustainable practices. To examine whether brands demonstrating this kind of leadership can reduce consumer scepticism and improve brand perception, the researchers conducted four studies.
The first study explored how consumers feel about AI-generated ads, putting participants into one of two ad conditions (non-AI generated and AI-generated). Not surprisingly, the consumers reported the AI ads as ‘less credible’ and had ‘less positive attitudes’ to the brand.
The second study was similar to the first but also included the element of leadership. Participants were sorted into four groups as the researchers paired AI or non-AI ads with a stated or not stated leadership approach. The participants then answered questions relating to credibility and brand attitude. According to the study authors, the results indicated that ‘a brand perceived to demonstrate leadership for the greater good can reduce negative consumer reactions to AI-generated ads.’
The third study closely replicated the second, but participants were shown only AI-generated ads and the brand’s leadership approach was more subtly stated. Despite these changes, the experiment yielded the same results.
The final study added purchase intentions into the mix, exploring how leadership for the greater good impacts consumers’ willingness to buy. The researchers concluded that ‘for brands generating ads with AI, perceptions of leadership for the greater good lead to higher brand credibility, higher brand attitude and, in turn, higher purchase intention’.
What does this mean for brands?
AI-generated ads do harm brand perceptions, but the study authors say the negative impact is ‘not absolute’ and ‘can be significantly influenced by the perceived intentions of the brand in relation to leadership’.
They advise brands to link their AI advertising strategies with leadership for the greater good and to ‘consider when and how they disclose the use of AI’. They further explain that brands could ‘benefit from not disclosing the use of AI’, but also warn this is only a short-term strategy since government regulations may soon mandate AI disclosure.
The study authors also argue brands should consider a ‘modest investment in promoting [their] commitment to ethical leadership’ since this can help insure them against negative sentiments stemming from AI content.
The paper, Easing AI-advertising aversion: how leadership for the greater good buffers negative response to AI-generated ads, was written by Sean Sands, Vlad Demsar, Carla Ferraro, Sam Wilson, Melissa Wheeler and Colin Campbell.
