Designer-consumer similarity matters: The effect of AI-designed products on purchase intention

AI has become a novel and prevalent source of product design, bringing both opportunities and challenges to the retail industry. However, research investigating AI-designed products from the consumers' perspective remains scarce. Drawing on social identity theory and the similarity-attraction paradigm, this research examined consumers' purchase intention for the products labeled as AI-designed across a series of nine experiments (and a supplementary study). Studies 1A, 1B, and 1C demonstrate that, compared to products labeled as human-designed, consumers have a lower purchase intention for products labeled as AI-designed, and this effect remains robust regardless of the perceived importance of utilitarian/hedonic attributes for a given product category. Studies 2A, 2B, and 2C unveil consumers’ lower perceived similarity with AI designers as the underlying mechanism, and address several alternative explanations, including perceived product aesthetics, decision-making style, maximizing mindset, and psychological distance. Study 3 shows that the indirect effect via perceived similarity is moderated by how closely consumers link a focal product category to their self-identities. Study 4 further reveals that the key effect is attenuated and even eliminated by human-AI collaboration, providing an effective intervention strategy. Study 5 identifies acquisition mode as another theoretically- and managerially-relevant moderator, showing that the negative effect associated with AI design disappears and even reverses when the product is acquired through rental. These results advance the understanding of consumer psychological and behavioral responses to products labeled as AI-designed and provide strategic insights for managers on how to enhance consumer receptivity to products designed by AI.