Passion or profit? The differential effects of brand motive attribution and brand extension authenticity on perceptions of human- vs. AI-designed products

This paper examines how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in new product design influences consumer perceptions of brand quality, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium, with a focus on the moderating role of brand motive attribution (passion vs. profit) and the mediating role of brand extension authenticity. Two experiments were conducted using stimuli of wedding jewellery and craft beer, with data collected via an online panel. Data were analyzed using Generalized Linear Models (GLM) and mediation analysis (PROCESS Models 4 and 7). Results indicate that AI-designed products receive more favourable evaluations when associated with passion-driven rather than profit-driven brands. These relationships are explained by brand extension authenticity, with moderated mediation analyses demonstrating that the indirect effects are stronger for passion-driven brands. To our knowledge, this study is among the first to examine AI use in product design as a novel signal, contingent on brand motive attribution, with implications for brands employing extension strategies. We thus extend prior research on AI-enabled design and brand authenticity (e.g., Lee and Kim 2024; Xu and Mehta 2022) by proposing and testing a conditional-process model linking AI use, perceived authenticity, and brand quality evaluations.