Structural insights into the effects of generative AI-empowered social media marketing on customer-brand engagement and purchase behaviors: evidence from China's platform economy

This study examines the effectiveness of generative artificial intelligence-empowered social media marketing activities in enhancing customer purchase intentions through the mediating roles of brand equity and relationship equity within China’s platform economy. As generative artificial intelligence increasingly transforms digital interactions between brands and consumers, understanding its influence on customer engagement and purchasing behavior has become increasingly important. Data were collected from 620 Chinese consumers and analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among generative artificial intelligence-empowered social media marketing activities, customer–brand engagement, brand equity, relationship equity, and purchase intention. The findings reveal that generative artificial intelligence-empowered social media marketing activities exert significant positive effects on customer–brand engagement, purchase intention, brand equity, and relationship equity. Brand equity significantly enhances both customer–brand engagement and purchase intention, confirming its important role in converting artificial intelligence-enabled social media marketing efforts into favorable consumer outcomes. Relationship equity significantly influences purchase intention but does not significantly affect customer–brand engagement. Furthermore, customer–brand engagement does not significantly influence purchase intention. The mediation results indicate that brand equity significantly mediates the effects of generative artificial intelligence-empowered social media marketing activities on both customer–brand engagement and purchase intention. In contrast, relationship equity mediates only the relationship between generative artificial intelligence-empowered social media marketing activities and purchase intention. These findings suggest that, within China’s platform economy, generative artificial intelligence-enhanced social media marketing primarily influences consumer engagement and purchasing behavior through stronger brand equity, while relationship equity mainly facilitates purchase intentions. This study extends the literature on artificial intelligence-enabled digital marketing by providing insights into the mechanisms through which generative artificial intelligence enhances marketing effectiveness and consumer value creation.