AI vs. Human Streamers: How Digital Agents Shape Consumer Persuasion Processing in Live Streaming Commerce

Live streaming commerce is increasingly relying on high-intensity persuasive tactics, yet such tactics may activate consumers’ persuasion knowledge and trigger defensive processing. This research examines whether AI streamers mitigate this defense more effectively than human streamers. Drawing on the Persuasion Knowledge Model, two experiments reveal that, under conditions of high persuasive intensity, consumers perceive lower persuasive intent from AI streamers than from human streamers, which, in turn, reduces consumer suspicion and increases purchase intention. Moreover, this serial mediating effect is stronger for independent accounts than for brand official accounts. These findings provide evidence for a PKM-based mechanism of AI-mediated persuasion and suggest that platforms should consider using AI streamers in high-pressure promotional contexts.