How Consumer Lay Theories Shape Valuation of AI Creativity

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have empowered algorithms to produce creative content across various domains, including artistic fields such as music and design, and scientific fields such as biology and chemistry. Despite these advancements, consumers remain skeptical about AI’s role in creative tasks. This research proposes that consumers’ aversion to the use of AI for creative tasks is rooted partly in misconceptions about the nature of creativity itself. According to the dual-path model of creativity, creativity involves two critical pathways: flexibility and persistence. We show that consumers often undervalue the persistence path (e.g., systematic exploration) compared to the flexibility path (e.g., distal associations). Since consumers believe that AI can excel at tasks requiring persistence but not at tasks requiring flexibility, they undervalue AI-generated creative output. We show however that highlighting the persistence path increases consumer acceptance of AI and human-AI collaboration in creative tasks. Through six experimental studies (N = 880), this research informs the consumer psychology of AI creativity, helping firms understand when AI use enhances or diminishes value in consumers’ eyes.