Dual Identity, Dual Acceptance Path of AI Influencers: As Social Actors and Technological Systems

Artificial intelligence (AI) influencers are increasingly used as brand endorsers across luxury and non-luxury markets, yet how consumers evaluate these hybrid entities remains insufficiently understood. We proposed that AI influencers hold a dual identity in the eyes of consumers—as both social actors and technological systems. Drawing on the Heuristic–Systematic Model (HSM), this study conceptualizes AI influencer acceptance as a dual-path process in which heuristic, social–relational evaluations (attitude, trust) and systematic, technology-based evaluations (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use) jointly operate through parasocial interaction (PSI). A 2 (luxury vs. non-luxury) × 2 (emotional vs. functional product) between-subjects experiment (N = 296) was conducted. SEM provides strong support for the proposed model: attitude toward the AI influencer, trust in the AI influencer, and perceived usefulness positively predict PSI, whereas perceived ease of use does not. PSI, in turn, increases willingness to accept AI influencers and purchase intention. Multi-group analyses further reveal that most structural relationships remain stable across conditions, while the effect of perceived usefulness on PSI varies by product context and is strongest in the non-luxury-functional condition.