Investigating awareness and behavioural intentions from AI water footprint digital posters in higher education settings

• First empirical study linking AI use to behavioural intentions through environmental messaging in a higher education setting. • Participants intend to reflect more critically on AI necessity after the campaign. • Participants found AI’s water consumption unclear, suggesting room for improvement in visual design. • Localised digital posters effectively captured attention in high-traffic university spaces. • Offers a low-cost, replicable model for implementing sustainability in discussions around developing technology. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in everyday digital tools, its environmental impact, particularly the hidden water consumption from data centre cooling, remains largely unrecognised by users. This study investigates whether targeted science communication can raise awareness of the AI water footprint through a university-wide digital poster campaign at the University of Glasgow. Visually engaging, data-driven posters linked to an online survey ( n = 104) were used to assess baseline awareness, message clarity, emotional and cognitive engagement, and self-reported behavioural intentions. Results indicated that while 60 respondents reported prior awareness of the environmental impact of AI, nearly half found the water usage information surprising. Exposure to the campaign prompted critical reflection, with 50 respondents expressing strong intentions to evaluate the necessity of AI tools before use. Qualitative feedback highlighted the need for improved visual design and deeper contextualisation to maximise impact. This study contributes to understanding how low-cost, digital sustainability interventions can allow for informed and responsible engagement with emerging technologies in educational settings. Created in BioRender. Gibbons, S. (2026) https://BioRender.com/r34f9zm