Mitigating AI Aversion

Feng, Y., Zuo, X., & Kim, H. (2025, March). Mitigating AI aversion: The role of human effort in AI-labeled ads. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of American Academy of Advertising, Pittsburgh, PA.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) offers cost-effective solutions for content creation, particularly for small businesses. However, once disclosed, AI-generated advertising faces challenges due to consumers’ AI aversion. Notably, previous research has provided mixed results on how people perceive AI-labeled ads. To address the research gap, this research investigates the impact of different AI labels, signaling varying levels of human effort in the content creation process, on consumer attitudes. Through two online experiments, we found that perceived human effort plays a significant role in shaping consumer responses to an AI-labeled ad. Specifically, AI labels suggesting high human effort (e.g., “Human-drafted, AI-refined”) do not diminish ad effectiveness. Conversely, labels that position AI as the dominant creator (e.g., “AI-generated” and “AI-drafted, human-refined”) may trigger negative consumer reactions, indicative of AI aversion. These results highlight that AI aversion is context-dependent and may be mitigated by emphasizing the leadership of human creativity in AI collaborations.