Integrating AI into Marketing

Pascal Stiefenhofer ()
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Pascal Stiefenhofer: Newcastle University, Economics

Chapter Chapter 8 in Conscious Consumption, 2026, pp 405-464 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethical marketing and the rise of conscious consumption, positioning consumer agency as the external counterpart to the normative and governance frameworks developed in earlier chapters. It begins by outlining the ethical, environmental, and social dimensions of conscious consumption, showing how generative AI both enables and complicates value-driven practices. Building on prior discussions of admissibility, measurement, and governance, the analysis identifies persistent risks in AI-mediated marketing, including privacy violations, algorithmic bias, synthetic media manipulation, and deficits in transparency and accountability. To formalize these dynamics, the chapter introduces a suite of game-theoretic models that capture the strategic interactions underpinning ethical alignment, trust formation, reputational capital, and consumer sanctioning in AI-driven markets. Case studies of Patagonia, IKEA, and Google illustrate how theoretical principles manifest in practice, revealing both successful and failed attempts to embed AI within ethical brand narratives. These examples underscore the central argument that ethical AI marketing is sustained when firms, consumers, and platforms co-evolve under credible signaling, transparency mechanisms, and reputational discipline. The chapter further situates these dynamics within broader governance regimes, including global AI ethics standards, CSR and ESG integration, and certification frameworks that transform ethics from voluntary aspiration into enforceable practice. Particular attention is given to consumer trust and brand loyalty, analyzed through repeated interaction models, hybrid human–AI communication, and relational incentive structures that extend earlier accounts of orchestration and alignment within the creative funnel. Looking forward, the discussion highlights evolving consumer expectations, sustainable innovation, and the systemic potential of responsible AI to reshape markets as autonomous systems advance toward greater decision-making capacity. By integrating normative theory, formal models, empirical case studies, and governance perspectives, the chapter offers a comprehensive account of how AI and conscious consumption co-evolve, and how consumer agency enforces the boundaries of ethically aligned marketing ecosystems.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-22336-4_8

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-22336-4_8

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