Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and cause-related marketing has reshaped corporate social responsibility practices while triggering a conflict between technological instrumental rationality and moral value transmission. Building on the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) and AI aversion literature, this research employs two experiments to reveal that AI disclosure exerts a unique inhibitory effect on consumers’ purchase intentions in cause-related marketing contexts compared to non-cause-related marketing scenarios. Further analysis uncovers a chain mediation pathway through consumer skepticism and advertisement attitudes, explaining the psychological mechanism underlying AI disclosure’s impact on purchase intentions. The study also identifies the moderating role of AI aversion within this chain model. The findings provide a new theoretical perspective for integrating AI disclosure, consumer psychological responses, and marketing effectiveness while exposing the “value-instrumentality” conflict inherent in AI applications for cause-related marketing. This research advances the evolution of the PKM in the digital era and offers practical insights for cause-related marketing enterprises to balance AI technology application with optimized disclosure strategies.

Purpose: Product assembly is not only a functional step in product delivery but also a potentially meaningful hands-on experience for consumers. To reduce the potential difficulties encountered during assembly, some firms are replacing traditional manuals with chatbot guidance. However, the impact of such interventions on consumer responses remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate how chatbot support in product assembly tasks – specifically in static versus video formats – affects perceived meaningfulness and, in turn, evaluations of the brand and service. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted two experiments: an online scenario-based experiment using a 3 (manual vs static chatbot vs video chatbot) × 2 (simple vs complex task) between-subjects design and a laboratory experiment in which participants completed actual product assembly tasks. ANOVA and PROCESS-based mediation and moderation analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results demonstrate a serial mediation effect: chatbot guidance reduces consumers' perceived meaningfulness, which diminishes brand intimacy and, subsequently, service evaluations. The negative effect is strongest for video chatbot guidance. Importantly, these effects are attenuated when product assembly tasks are more complex or when consumers have lower hands-on ability. Originality/value: This study advances the understanding of human–chatbot interaction by examining how chatbot support reshapes consumers’ assembly experiences. The findings highlight the importance of perceived meaningfulness and suggest that chatbot use should be tailored for consumers with lower hands-on abilities or for situations involving more complex tasks.