Why a brand’s CSR reputation should determine its use of AI  /

Easing AI-advertising aversion: how leadership for the greater good buffers negative response to AI-generated ads

By Sean Sands, Vlad Demsar, Carla Ferraro, Sam Wilson, Melissa Wheeler and Colin Campbell

Give it to me in one sentence.

Brands who commit to social good are less affected by the negative impacts that AI-generated ads have on brand perceptions.

Give me a little more detail.

The researchers used four studies to test whether AI-generated ads have negative impacts on brand perceptions and the extent to which brands could be protected by a reputation for social responsibility.

In the first study, participants were split into two groups and given a short description of a fictitious US coffee brand to read. One group read about a company that had just launched a new AI-generated ad campaign, while the other read about the same brand who had just launched a non AI-generated ad.

The sample were then asked to rate the brand on a seven point scale for brand credibility and how positively they viewed the brand (brand attitude). Those in the AI-generated cohort rated the brand to be significantly less credible, and reported a more negative brand attitude.

The second study introduced social responsibility into the mix. Participants were split into four groups, either reading about a coffee brand that had or hadn’t used an AI-generated ad and had or hadn’t committed to prioritising social good ahead of financial success. Participants who viewed the socially responsible version of the brand were informed that it explicitly discloses its use of AI.

Results showed that while brand credibility and brand attitude scores were lower in both AI-generated ad conditions, a reputation for social good significantly reduced the negative impact that AI use has on brand perceptions.

Study 3 focused solely on brands using AI-generated ads, but used a more subtle representation of social good, where disclosure of AI use was not made explicit. This representation of the brand was compared again to a version of the brand where no commitment to social good was made. Results again showed that brand credibility and brand attitude scores were lower when AI generated ads were used without a pledge for social good.

Finally, in Study 4, the researchers tested the extent to which AI-generated ads could impact purchase intention, and whether a reputation for social good could nullify this. When the brand used AI in combination with a pledge towards having a positive social impact on society, purchase intention was higher than when the brand used AI without any commitment to social good.

Because the increased purchase intention showed to be mediated by brand credibility and brand attitude, the researchers concluded that because of positive spillover effects brands with a reputation for social good are viewed as being more trustworthy which reduces concerns about misusing AI.

Why is this interesting?

It reveals that while negative consumer attitudes around AI use in advertising can have a detrimental impact on brand perceptions, it can largely be cancelled out by an observable commitment to social good.

It perhaps signals a need for brands to avoid AI-generated advertising at times where their CSR commitments are being questioned, or if they have a long-lasting reputation for having a negative social impact on society.

AI could be a leveller for charities and NGOs who don’t have the financial resources of other brands. This study suggests that these brands with reputations for social responsibility over profit could be better suited to using AI than other brands, where its use is excused by the brands commitments.

Are there any weaknesses?

Because participants were informed that the brand was fake and had less than 150 words of information to read about it, its use of AI and commitments to social responsibility were perhaps unrealistically salient. Subject biases around a desire to be seen as socially conscious could have motivated participants to respond overly positively to messages around social good.

Findings also can’t necessarily be generalised beyond coffee brands because this was the only sector tested, and it is an industry where well publicised exploitation and a need for fair trade commitments have made brands' social responsibility efforts more important.

Where can I find the whole report?

Here, and it’s free.