The Effect of Storytelling in Advertising on Purchase Intention: A Study on Artificial Intelligence Applications

Abstract

Storytelling, one of the oldest forms of human communication, serves as a cognitive tool for meaning-making, value transmission, and decision-making. Because it integrates emotion and cognition, storytelling has been widely used to influence attitudes and behaviors. The study examines two AI-generated advertising films: one employing a rational advertising appeal that highlights functional product benefits, and the other an emotional advertising appeal that enables empathy and emotional connection with the spectators. The main characteristic of the study is evaluating participants’ progress in AI literacy, given the gen-AI nature of the advertising content. The research first presents the theoretical bases of storytelling and its relationship with advertising, then evaluates the effects of generative AI and story-based advertisements on consumers’ purchase intentions through analyzing AI-assisted storytelling in advertising using the AIDMSAS model. The results disclose that AI-powered storytelling can notably change consumers’ decision-making.