Autonomy and control: How political ideology shapes the use of artificial intelligence

Abstract Leveraging the context of artificial intelligence (AI)‐enabled checkouts (e.g., Grab‐and‐Go checkouts), we show that, across four studies, consumer response depends on their political identity salience: consumers with higher political identity salience (vs. the uninvolved) evaluate and respond to retailers using AI‐enabled checkouts more favorably compared with self‐service kiosks. Moreover, among these consumers, we propose and find political ideology as a boundary condition; liberals prefer AI‐enabled over self‐service checkouts, whereas conservatives are indifferent. Utilizing an autonomy‐based model, we demonstrate that liberal consumers' greater preference for AI‐enabled checkouts is driven by experiences of autonomy, which then elicits approach emotions.