Understanding AI's Role in Shaping Consumer Choices

Abstract

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has substantially transformed marketing and the way consumers make decisions. This study investigates the impact of transparency and perceived control on the acceptance of personalized recommendations made by AI systems. The research was conducted with 81 participants through online questionnaires collected between March and April 2024. The structural model used analyzed the relationships between transparency, perceived control, perception of AI, and consumers' purchasing decisions. The results reveal that transparency and perceived control act as critical mediators in the relationship between the perception of AI and acceptance of personalized recommendations, influencing consumer trust as well as their concerns about privacy and ethics in the use of data. The findings highlight that clear communication about how AI operates and offers recommendations can increase the perception of transparency, giving consumers a deeper understanding of the processes involved. At the same time, giving users more control over personalized preferences can lead to greater engagement and trust in AI-generated recommendations. Thus, companies looking to deploy personalized recommendation systems should focus on developing strategies that emphasize transparency and offer significant control to the user. The findings indicate that such approaches can significantly contribute to increasing the acceptance of personalized recommendations while addressing ethical and privacy concerns in the use of data.