Holding All the Cards from the Good Old Days: How Nostalgic Cues Enhance Artificial Intelligence Service Acceptance

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has become deeply integrated into services, many customers exhibit low acceptance of AI-driven offerings. Identifying effective and efficient ways to enhance AI acceptance is both theoretically significant and practically valuable. Drawing on compensatory control theory, we propose that embedded nostalgic cues in AI services can increase customers’ acceptance of these services. The underlying mechanism is an enhanced, agent-specific sense of control: nostalgic cues reduce uncertainty associated with AI-mediated interactions and restore customers’ agent-specific sense of control over the AI service, thereby increasing their willingness to accept AI services. Moreover, the positive effect of nostalgic cues on AI acceptance is contingent upon moderators—AI role positioning and identity threat. We tested our proposed effect using field and online experiments. Our findings contribute theoretical insights into AI services and nostalgia while offering practical solutions for the service industry.