AI-Enabled Heritage Storytelling and Sustainable Visitor Behavior in Urban Heritage Destinations: The Roles of Heritage Connectedness and Stewardship Intention

Urban heritage destinations increasingly use digital technologies to interpret cultural heritage, yet limited research has examined how AI-enabled storytelling relates to visitors’ heritage stewardship and sustainable behavior. Drawing on Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) theory, this study examines the relationships between AI-enabled heritage storytelling, heritage connectedness, heritage stewardship intention, and self-reported sustainable heritage behavior. Survey data from 540 tourists who had encountered AI-enabled heritage storytelling associated with Saudi heritage destinations were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings indicate positive associations between perceived AI-enabled storytelling and heritage connectedness, stewardship intention, and sustainable heritage behavior. Heritage connectedness is also positively associated with stewardship intention and sustainable heritage behavior, while stewardship intention is positively associated with sustainable heritage behavior. The mediation analyses identify heritage connectedness and stewardship intention as relevant mechanisms underlying the specific indirect relationships examined in the model. However, the cross-sectional design does not establish temporal ordering or causality, and serial mediation was neither hypothesized nor tested. The findings suggest that heritage destination managers may consider incorporating culturally meaningful narratives and conservation-oriented information into AI-enabled interpretation, while evaluating such initiatives in light of historical accuracy, cultural authenticity, and community participation. The study contributes to research on AI-enabled heritage tourism and sustainable visitor responses, with relevance to Sustainable Development Goal 11 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda. Longitudinal, experimental, and cross-cultural research is needed to assess the robustness and temporal development of these relationships.