A consumer perspective of AI certification – the current certification landscape, consumer approval and directions for future research

Abstract

Purpose In spite of the merits of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing and social media, harm to consumers has prompted calls for AI auditing/certification. Understanding consumers’ approval of AI certification entities is vital for its effectiveness and companies’ choice of certification. This study aims to generate important insights into the consumer perspective of AI certifications and stimulate future research. Design/methodology/approach A literature and status-quo-driven search of the AI certification landscape identifies entities and related concepts. This study empirically explores consumer approval of the most discussed entities in four AI decision domains using an online experiment and outline a research agenda for AI certification in marketing/social media. Findings Trust in AI certification is complex. The empirical findings show that consumers seem to approve more of non-profit entities than for-profit entities, with the government approving the most. Research limitations/implications The introduction of AI certification to marketing/social media contributes to work on consumer trust and AI acceptance and structures AI certification research from outside marketing to facilitate future research on AI certification for marketing/social media scholars. Practical implications For businesses, the authors provide a first insight into consumer preferences for AI-certifying entities, guiding the choice of which entity to use. For policymakers, this work guides their ongoing discussion on “who should certify AI” from a consumer perspective. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to introduce the topic of AI certification to the marketing/social media literature, provide a novel guideline to scholars and offer the first set of empirical studies examining consumer approval of AI certifications.

The Influence of Digital Technology on Marketing Strategy

“…In the marketing domain, AI is celebrated for its advantages, but concerns have been raised regarding the need for AI auditing and certification to ensure consumer well-being and prevent harm (Blösser, 2023). Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to approach service design from a customer experience perspective and avoid classifying service tasks based on questionably conceived AI intelligences (Giebelhausen, 2023).…”

Conceptualizing Ethical AI-Enabled Marketing: Current State and Agenda for Future Research

“…The program aims to develop such practices to compare the marketing systems with set ethical standards, thus building consumer confidence for the equal playing field for companies, irrespective of their size. Such a certification program will give attention to the need for AI marketing practices with the corresponding ethical consideration to make sure that the implementation of technology should proceed for the betterment of the marketing field but not by letting the corresponding ethical consideration of the same be its causality [11].…”