The Influence of Anthropomorphic Appearance of Artificial Intelligence Products on Consumer Behavior

Abstract

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, artificial intelligence products are widely used in the market. The degree of artificial intelligence product appearance anthropomorphism has been a hot topic in product strategy as well as consumer behavior research, however, the related research in this field has not reached a unanimous conclusion. This study systematically investigated the influence of AI anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types through four experiments. It was found that for hedonic AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived entertainment, and intelligence level significantly moderates the mediating effect of perceived entertainment; while for practical AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived usefulness, and intelligence level does not significantly moderate the mediating effect of perceived usefulness. There is no significant moderating effect of intelligence level on perceived usefulness. This study enriches the research on the anthropomorphic appearance of AI products in consumer behavior and provides effective guidance for companies to develop appropriate anthropomorphic images and marketing strategies when designing and producing AI products.