AI-Based Interpretation and Conservation-Oriented Visitor Response at World Heritage Sites: Authenticity, Parasocial Interaction, and Emotional Experience

AI-based interpretation is increasingly used in heritage tourism, yet its relationship with stewardship-relevant visitor responses remains insufficiently theorised. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response framework, this study examines how visitor-perceived AI-based interpretation is associated with emotional experience and conservation-oriented behavioural intention at the Emei Mountain-Leshan Giant Buddha World Heritage Site in China. Survey data from 418 adult visitors collected in 2025 were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. AI-based interpretation was positively associated with perceived authenticity (β = 0.657), parasocial interaction (β = 0.530), emotional experience (β = 0.355), and conservation-oriented behavioural intention (β = 0.117). The direct association with conservation-oriented behavioural intention was small. Approximately four-fifths of the total AII-CBI association was accounted for by statistically significant indirect pathways through authenticity, parasocial interaction, and emotional experience. Emotional experience was the strongest proximal predictor of conservation-oriented behavioural intention (β = 0.422). Supplementary indirect-effect and moderation analyses further indicate that authenticity-based and relation-based pathways link AI interpretation with stewardship-oriented intention, and that the AII-authenticity association is stronger among first-time visitors. These findings extend smart-tourism research beyond technology acceptance by showing how AI interpretation can operate as a heritage-communication resource when it is perceived as authentic, socially engaging, and emotionally meaningful.