Artificial intelligence and empirical consumer research: A topic modeling analysis

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are reshaping academic and managerial practice and providing an array of opportunities to leverage data for insights into consumer behavior. Nevertheless, the difficulty of conducting research across marketing interfacing settings means that the potential of AI in consumer research remains largely unexploited, and consumer researchers are still unsure about how to use AI techniques. To facilitate the adoption, we present a topic modeling analysis of literature in top academic journals, focusing on the abstracts and the method sections across all areas of marketing interfacing management research, which use AI techniques to examine consumption-related questions. We also map consumer research employing AI techniques onto Schmitt’s Consumer Psychology of Brands. We find that over 90% of consumer-relevant research using AI techniques has taken place since 2009; of that, over 50% has taken place between 2019 and 2020. Our nuanced analysis highlights limitations, discusses future research, and provides actionable insights.