AI-Generated Influencers and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Trust and Attitude in HEIs in Southern Philippines

Abstract

The rise of AI-created influencers has significantly altered the landscape of digital marketing, but there is a limited body of empirical research on how such virtual influencers affect consumer behavior, especially in high-involvement situations. This study investigated the influence of perceived authenticity, parasocial interaction, and perceived anthropomorphism of AI-created influencers on purchase intention, with attitude and trust as mediating factors. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study involved 473 higher education students in the Philippines. The findings show that all three factors of AI-created influencers significantly and directly influence purchase intention. Moreover, the findings of the mediating analyses suggest that trust, and not attitude, is the primary explanatory variable. That is, trust partially mediated the influence of perceived authenticity and parasocial interaction on purchase intention, but attitude did not significantly mediate any of the tested relationships. The results indicate that persuasion in AI-influencer communication is primarily based on cognitive, rather than affective, processes. Furthermore, the study extends the literature on AI influencer communication to a new and developing economy and a higher education context, and it may also offer important and practical implications for any organization planning to use AI influencers in their digital communication campaigns.