Can generative artificial intelligence enhance brand performance in tourism? A mixed-methods study integrating service-dominant logic, social exchange theory, and uncanny valley theory

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) holds transformative potential for the tourism industry, though its effects on brand performance, a critical driver of competitive advantage, remain underexplored. This study investigates the impact of GAI on brand performance in tourism, drawing on service-dominant (S-D) logic, social exchange theory, and uncanny valley theory as theoretical lenses and employing a mixed-methods approach involving interviews and surveys. Qualitative themes include GAI service design, GAI service expectation, tourist engagement, and brand performance, which collectively provide a comprehensive view of GAI’s role in tourism. Quantitative results further reveal that GAI positively influences brand performance, which evidences its impact in tourism, and that anthropomorphism moderates tourist engagement, such that GAI with greater humanlike attributes engages tourists more effectively. In turn, these insights enrich the tourism literature and offer practical guidance for tourism managers in developing future strategies involving GAI. • Investigated the impact of GAI on brand performance in tourism. • Impact was revealed through GAI service design and expectation and tourist engagement. • GAI was found to positively influence brand performance in tourism. • Anthropomorphism played a moderating role in enhancing tourist engagement.