Tainted by technology? The effect of AI-generated image labels on consumers’ food purchase intentions

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how AI-generated image labels influence consumers’ purchase intention of cuisine, by revealing the psychological mechanisms via perceived effort, perceived image authenticity and perceived taste, and further examining the moderating effect of price premiums in food marketing. Design/methodology/approach This study uses three scenario-based experiments. Experiment 1 studies AI-generated label versus non-label to reveal direct effects on purchase intention. Experiment 2 examines the serial mediation via perceived image authenticity, perceived effort and perceived taste. Experiment 3 examines the moderating effect of price premiums using a 2 × 2 factorial design with online participants to mimic real consumers’ behaviors. Findings The results show that an AI-generated label greatly reduces purchase intentions compared to non-label through decreasing perceived effort and perceived image authenticity, which further leads to lowered perceived taste. The negative effect of AI-generated label on purchase intention is amplified under high price premiums. Originality/value This study advances the traditional trust perspective to uncover how AI-generated label influences consumers’ value judgments. This study shows that AI-generated label not only decreases perceived authenticity but also weakens consumers’ inference of merchant effort, which makes consumers further decrease their perceived taste. Therefore, it unveils an alternative signaling mechanism for consumers’ responses to AI-generated content. Moreover, by incorporating AI labeling and price premium as dual signals, this study clarifies why and when AI-generated labels decrease consumers’ purchase intentions.