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Paper A

Generative AI in Marketing Communication: Consumer Perceptions, Brand Credibility, and Responsible AI Practices

Tahir Mushtaq, Onder Kethuda, Antje Cockrill, Ahmed Almoraish — 2026 — Cardiff Metropolitan Research Repository (Cardiff Metropolitan University)

conference paper  ·   ·  read now

Key findings

• When consumers think a brand is using too much AI to create its messages, they trust that brand less — it feels less genuine and credible.
• AI-generated content often feels emotionally flat to consumers. It doesn't hit the same way as writing that feels human, which makes the brand feel less relatable.
• Because many brands use the same AI tools, their content starts to look and sound the same. Consumers notice this sameness and see the brand as less unique or special.
• Consumers are developing 'AI fatigue' — they're getting tired of content they suspect is AI-generated, which pushes them to disengage from those brands.

Marketing implications

• Don't let AI write everything without a human edit. Consumers can tell when content feels generic and emotionally flat — add a human voice before it goes out.
• If you're using the same AI tools as every other brand in your category, your content will start to look like theirs. Differentiate by injecting your brand's specific tone, stories, and points of view that an AI wouldn't generate on its own.
• Consider being upfront about how you use AI in your content. Transparency about your process may actually help rather than hurt trust, since consumers are already suspicious anyway.

Paper B

Innovative and Sustainable Pathways in Hospitality and Tourism Businesses: How AI, Digital Innovation, and Organizational Agility Enhance Marketing Performance

Abrar Alhomaid, Bassam Samir Al-Romeedy — 2026 — GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites

peer reviewed journal article  ·  open access  ·  read now

Key findings

• Hotels that use AI tools showed stronger marketing results — including better customer acquisition, retention, and market share — compared to those relying on traditional approaches.
• AI adoption also made hotels better at digital innovation (creating new services and digital tools) and more organizationally agile (able to quickly shift strategies when conditions change).
• The link between AI and better marketing performance works partly through these two middle steps: AI improves innovation and agility, and those in turn improve marketing results. AI also has a direct positive effect on marketing performance on its own.
• Simply having AI tools is not enough — hotels that embedded AI into their innovation practices and decision-making processes saw the biggest marketing gains.

Marketing implications

• If your hotel or hospitality brand is adopting AI tools, don't just plug them in — make sure they are actively changing how your team makes decisions and launches new initiatives. The hotels seeing the biggest marketing gains paired AI with new processes, not just new software.
• If you manage marketing at a hotel or travel brand, use AI for real-time analytics and forecasting first — these capabilities are what most directly help teams move faster and respond to shifts in customer demand.
• When pitching AI investment to leadership, frame it as enabling both smarter marketing AND faster organizational responses — not just cost savings or automation. This study shows those two paths together drive the biggest lift.

Paper C

Adoption of Generative AI Tools in Marketing and Customer Engagement: A Study on Indian Businesses

Dr M.V. Sathiyabama, Dr N. Ponsabariraj — 2026 — International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

peer reviewed journal article  ·   ·  use cautiously

Key findings

• Most businesses surveyed were aware of generative AI tools and had taken steps to train staff, suggesting they are ready to adopt — but most haven't yet gone beyond the basics.
• The most common uses of AI were analyzing customer data and creating content (like writing copy or generating images). More advanced uses — like recommending specific products to specific customers — were still rare.
• Businesses that used more AI tools reported a stronger positive impact on their marketing results and customer experience. The more they used, the more benefit they reported.
• The biggest roadblocks to wider AI adoption were a shortage of skilled workers, concerns about data privacy, and uncertainty about how to integrate AI responsibly into existing business processes.

Marketing implications

• If you run marketing for a small or mid-sized business, start with AI for the basics: analyzing customer data and writing content. That's where adoption is highest and the on-ramp is easiest.
• Once you're comfortable with basic AI tools, look into personalized product recommendations — this study suggests most businesses haven't done it yet, so it could be a competitive edge.
• Before rolling out AI tools, invest in training your team. This study (and the literature it cites) consistently finds that staff training is what separates businesses that get value from AI from those that don't.

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