The AI-Disclosure Dilemma : How AI labels shape advertisement Attitudes, Credibility, Transparency, and Purchase Intention in a digital environment

I investigated the implications of exposing the use of AI in advertising. With AI becoming more and more of a topic in our current society, I wanted to know if disclosure of AI involvement in advertisements would have effects on consumer attitudes toward the advertisement, perceived credibility, or their intent to purchase the advertised product. To investigate this, I performed a survey experiment with three conditions: one group encountered an advertisement without an AI label, while the second group was served an advertisement labeled "This advertisement was brought to you by AI,", while the third group encountered advertisements explicitly labeled "created and brought by AI. Contrary to my expectations, the results that were found after analysis of the survey data indicated that being honest about the involvement of AI had no significant negative effects. On the other hand, participants viewed advertisements with an AI label as significantly more transparent, highlighting a potential benefit of clear communication around AI use. These insights suggest that openly disclosing AI involvement could serve as an effective transparency strategy rather than triggering the anticipated resistance or skepticism.