ChatGPT Made Me Buy it: The Role of AI Recommendation Tools in Shaping Generation Z Consumers’ Trust and Purchase Intentions

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in electronic shopping has caused a major shift , and the creation of personalized recommendation systems that provide customized consumer services in a targeted manner has played a key role in this development.These digital tools, for the so-called Generation Z, who are the tech-savvy and a generation fully immersed in it, are not only the conveniences they can't do without, but also the advisors that can help them and guide them to making purchases.In spite of the growing use of recommendation systems in e-commerce, the psychology and behavior models that these systems exercise in shaping consumer behavior are yet to be exhaustively studied.This paper will analyze the effect of AI-based recommendation tools in trust-building and purchase decision among the Generation Z customers, especially focusing on the intervening role of trust in this relationship.Through an empirical TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and trust-based consumer decision model application on a structured survey of 200 Gen Z consumers in Malaysia.Most of the 200 respondents are students from UKM schools in Malaysia.this study aims at revealing the dynamics involved in these.These conclusions would be applicable to the marketers and the developers of the technology who are working towards improving the user experience and ensuring the consumer trust in the AI-enabled ecommerce applications.