arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

When Trust Breaks: The Impact of AI-generated Reviews on Consumer Trust and Purchase Intention in Entrepreneurial Marketing

Christopher P. Furner & Robert Zinko

Journal of Enterprising Culture2026https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218495826500032article
AJG 1
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

This research note examines the effect of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video reviews on consumer trust and purchase intention within an entrepreneurial marketing context. As entrepreneurs increasingly adopt AI avatars to generate persuasive content and accelerate digital engagement, ethical challenges regarding transparency and authenticity arise. Using a pre-test/post-test design, 134 adult participants viewed a hotel video review that they initially believed to be created by a real person. After learning that the reviewer was an AI-generated avatar, participants reported their trust and purchase intention again. Results from paired-sample t-tests revealed significant declines in both trust ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) and purchase intention ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). The findings underscore the ethical tension between entrepreneurial agility and consumer transparency, suggesting that while AI avatars offer cost-effective entrepreneurial marketing opportunities, undisclosed use can erode relational trust and damage brand credibility. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to prioritize disclosure and authenticity when integrating AI tools into customer-facing communications.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218495826500032

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{christopher2026,
  title        = {{When Trust Breaks: The Impact of AI-generated Reviews on Consumer Trust and Purchase Intention in Entrepreneurial Marketing}},
  author       = {Christopher P. Furner & Robert Zinko},
  journal      = {Journal of Enterprising Culture},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218495826500032},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

When Trust Breaks: The Impact of AI-generated Reviews on Consumer Trust and Purchase Intention in Entrepreneurial Marketing

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.