Can AI make us less green? Insights from four experiments on digital speed, time perception, and sustainable consumption

Digital technologies increasingly rely on artificial intelligence (AI) agents to guide consumer choices. Although AI agents are designed to facilitate efficiency, their perceived speed may subtly alter consumers' temporal experience during decision making. Across four controlled experiments conducted with 1462 Chinese consumers recruited through a national online research panel, we investigate how AI (vs. human) agents influence sustainable consumption. Interacting with an AI agent heightens state arousal and weakens future self-continuity, accelerating consumers' internal sense of time and shortening their perceived connection to future outcomes. Consequently, consumers become less willing to wait for environmentally friendly options when those options involve delayed benefits (e.g., eco-shipping or carbon offsets). When temporal extensions yield continued or cumulative rewards (e.g., long-term green plans), however, the same temporal distortion enhances patience and promotes sustainability. These effects are moderated by interface tempo and agent anthropomorphism, which temper arousal and restore temporal balance. Together, these findings demonstrate that perceptions of digital speed shape consumers’ temporal horizons and sustainable decision making, extending theories of intertemporal choice and human–AI interaction while identifying design strategies that can align algorithmic efficiency with environmental responsibility.