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Rethinking Expectancy Disconfirmation in Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Creative Content

Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak & Stefan F.; id_orcid 0000-0002-4291-7824 Bernritter

Journal of Advertising Research2026https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2610130article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

AI is increasingly generating creative content, from ads to visual designs, but consumers often respond with aversion. Across six experiments, we show when and why this resistance can be reduced. We reveal a counterintuitive effect of expectancy disconfirmation: AI underperforming increases the likelihood that consumers choose its content (compared with human-generated content), whereas AI overperforming decreases it. This effect is driven by overperformance triggering perceptions of threat and dehumanization, whereas underperformance reduces threat and fosters humanization. These findings challenge traditional views of expectation disconfirmation. We also identify managerially actionable boundary conditions of this effect.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2610130

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@article{małgorzata2026,
  title        = {{Rethinking Expectancy Disconfirmation in Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Creative Content}},
  author       = {Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak & Stefan F.; id_orcid 0000-0002-4291-7824 Bernritter},
  journal      = {Journal of Advertising Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2610130},
}

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Rethinking Expectancy Disconfirmation in Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Creative Content

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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.