Three experiments find AI disclosure cuts ad clicks for old brands, not young ones

The authors trace the drop to a mismatch between consumers' expectations of an established brand and the idea of AI-made marketing. That mismatch weakened perceived brand authenticity, which lowered perceived product quality and, in turn, ad-clicking interest.

The work addresses earlier research that found mixed reactions to AI disclosure, some favourable and some unfavourable, by pointing to brand age as the condition that separates them.

The study draws on schema congruity theory, which holds that people respond to information depending on how well it fits what they already expect. The authors argue that brand age is an overlooked boundary condition explaining why earlier studies of AI disclosure in advertising found both favourable and unfavourable consumer responses.

Further analyses in the experiments indicate the effect works through perception. For old brands, AI disclosure created more schema incongruity, which undermined perceived brand authenticity and lowered perceived product quality, ending in reduced interest in clicking the ad. For young brands, no such negative effect emerged.