Overview

The accelerated integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into traditionally human-dominated sectors such as creativity and design has stirred multifaceted responses and inquiries. This research examines the downstream effects of AI design provenance (i.e., design credited to AI vs. humans) on consumers’ creative cognition and product choices. Five studies demonstrate that exposure to artwork, brand logos, and products purported to be AI-designed (vs. human-designed) enhances consumers’ creative performance and increases their preference for novel products. However, the effect only occurs when the design is perceived as aesthetically appealing. We find that the observed boost in creativity is due to a compensatory response from perceived self-threat and the inspirational role of AI. Furthermore, inducing skeptical beliefs about AI’s creative abilities reverses the effect of provenance on creative outputs. These findings offer insights into the evolving relationship between Generative AI and human creativity, with critical implications for businesses and consumers.