Beware the ‘AI’ buzzword: It may actually harm your product sales

This is according to a study led by Washington State University researchers in the US, and recently published in the academic Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. 

The findings consistently showed products described as using artificial intelligence were less popular, notes Mesut Cicek, Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing and lead author of the study. 

“When AI is mentioned, it tends to lower emotional trust, which in turn decreases purchase intentions,” he explains. “We found emotional trust plays a critical role in how consumers perceive AI-powered products.” 

In the experiments, the researchers included questions and descriptions across diverse product and service categories.  

For example, in one experiment participants were presented with identical descriptions of smart televisions, the only difference being the term ‘artificial intelligence’ was included for one group and omitted for the other. The group that saw ‘AI’ included in the product description indicated they were less likely to purchase the television. 

Stronger negative response for high-risk products 

Researchers also discovered that negative response to AI disclosure was even stronger for products and services perceived as ‘high-risk’. These are items that people commonly feel more uncertain or anxious about buying – such as expensive electronics, medical devices or financial services. 

Because failure carries more potential risk, which may include monetary loss or danger to physical safety, mentioning AI for these types of descriptions may make consumers more wary and less likely to purchase, the researchers believe. 

“We tested the effect across eight different product and service categories, and the results were all the same: it’s a disadvantage to include those kinds of terms in the product descriptions,” Cicek states. 

“Marketers should carefully consider how they present AI in their product descriptions or develop strategies to increase emotional trust. Emphasising AI may not always be beneficial, particularly for high-risk products. Focus on describing the features or benefits and avoid the AI buzzwords.”  

You can find out more about the study, titled ‘Adverse impacts of revealing the presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in product and service descriptions on purchase intentions: the mediating role of emotional trust and the moderating role of perceived risk’, here.