When do consumers prefer AI-enabled customer service? The interaction effect of brand personality and service provision type on brand attitudes and purchase intentions

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology has advanced, it has become crucial to promoting service innovation and evolution. However, whether and when consumers prefer AI-enabled services remains unclear. This study addresses this question by investigating the matching effect of brand personality (sincerity vs. competence) and customer service provision type (human-staffed vs. AI-enabled) on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Three scenario-based online experiments revealed that consumers prefer AI-enabled customer service when the brand personality is competence and human-staffed service when the brand personality is sincerity. These preferences lead to more positive brand attitudes and higher purchase intentions. We also found that perceived brand authenticity mediates the above relationships. Meanwhile, our investigation of the moderating role of consumer involvement found that the brand personality-service provision alignment’s positive effects emerge for high-involvement consumers but not for low-involvement consumers. These findings contribute to brand personality and authenticity theory and have practical implications for companies’ marketing strategies—elucidating, for example, how the effects of utilizing AI-enabled customer service may influence brand attitudes and purchase intentions regarding brands with different “personalities.”