Navigating the human-digital nexus: understanding consumer intentions with AI anchors in live commerce

The emergence of AI anchors in e-commerce live streaming represents a significant application of artificial intelligence, helping to lower labour costs for companies and easing the workload for human anchors. However, the influence of AI anchors on effective communication and consumer behavioural mechanisms remains a puzzle awaiting deciphering. Based on the ABC attitude model and trust transfer theory, this study assessed consumers' trust in AI anchors and explored the factors influencing their continued use of AI live streaming. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling on data from a questionnaire survey of 387 Chinese live streaming users who had interacted with AI anchors. The results indicate that perceived intelligence positively influences consumers' intention to continue using AI live streaming, while perceived anthropomorphism negatively impacts their intentions. Emotional trust mediated the relationship between perceived anthropomorphism, perceived intelligence, and consumers' intention to continue use, with cognitive trust and emotional trust exhibiting a chain mediation effect in this process. This study reveals the mechanisms influencing consumers' continued use of AI live streaming in human-computer interaction contexts, enhances our comprehension of the human-digital nexus, and provides technology companies and policymakers with practical suggestions for improving the user experience of live AI streaming.