Al service impacts on brand image and customer equity: empirical evidence from China

This paper examines the relations among AI service attributes, brand image, brand familiarity and customer equity. The proposed relationships were tested by structural equation modeling of survey data of 210 usable responses in China. Test results indicate that problem-solving ability, accuracy, and customization of AI service have significant positive effects on brand image; the three constructs of customer equity (value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity) are all positively and strongly affected by brand image. Moreover, brand familiarity moderates the effect of customization, interaction, and problem-solving ability on brand image. By bringing together AI literature and consumer behavior literature, this research sheds light on the effectiveness of AI service in enhancing brand image and customer equity. This has important theoretical value in enriching the streams of AI and brand research. Additionally, this research integrates the AI technology within a corporate brand management strategy and offers practitioners and marketers in post-COVID era with a model with which they can find new ways to meet consumer demands and improve brand image via AI technology.