aceconsumer perceptions of sustainability for AI-designed versus human-designed products
Source article: AI and human designers: How consumers see the genuine care in product design as more sustainable
Abstract Across a series of studies, we find that despite AI’s potential for greater efficiency in sustainable product designs, AI-designed products are perceived by consumers as less sustainable than those designed by humans. We demonstrate that this effect is driven by a perceived lack of genuine care, defined as the emotional component believed to go into a product’s design. Since sustainability is symbolically linked to values such as love and care, the absence of human involvement undermines perceptions of…
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By July 2026, researchers reported a series of studies showing that when products were described as designed by AI, consumers rated them as less sustainable than when the same products were described as designed by humans, despite AI's efficiency potential.
The finding matters because sustainability judgments influence buying and brand trust, and the gap was attributed to symbolic associations between sustainability and human care; it remains uncertain how durable the effect is across product categories or when firms add explicit genuine care cues.
- Studies compared consumer perceptions of products described as designed by AI versus by humans.
- The lower sustainability rating for AI designs was explained by a perceived lack of genuine care, defined as the emotional component believed to go into a product's design.
- Sustainability was found to be symbolically linked to values such as love and care, which consumers associate less with AI involvement.
AI systems offer potential for greater efficiency when creating sustainable product designs.
Consumers perceive products described as designed by AI as less sustainable than identical products described as designed by humans, driven by a perceived lack of genuine care.
The rundown
The research was conducted as a series of studies examining how design source is communicated to consumers and how that shapes sustainability judgments.
The authors define the mechanism as genuine care, described as the emotional component believed to go into a product's design, and note that sustainability is symbolically linked to values such as love and care.
The paper positions its contribution in sustainability marketing and the moderating role of genuine care cues in product evaluation, offering guidance for firms aligning AI-driven innovation with consumer expectations.
Sources
- Peer-reviewedJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science2026-07-06
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