Byte by byte: Influence of content generator - Investigating the impact of AI-generated content on health outcomes

Abstract

The rise of AI-generated content on social media has introduced new dynamics in digital engagement. Despite the increasing prevalence of AI in creating engaging content, its impact on consumer behavior, particularly concerning health outcomes, remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of content creators on user engagement in healthy habits. Through an online experiment, this research explores the type of content creator (AI vs. human-generated) to measure the impact on user intention, risk perception, loyalty, and behavioral intention. The findings reveal that human-generated content significantly outperforms AI-generated content in promoting healthy habits, fostering user loyalty, and enhancing behavioral intention, while AI-generated content is associated with higher risk perception. The results suggest that while AI can be a powerful tool for content creation, human elements remain crucial for building trust and effectively engaging users in healthrelated behaviors. This research contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the differential impacts of AI and human content creators in social media marketing, highlighting the importance of the human touch in digital health promotion strategies.