ESCP Europe

Langue

English

Publication year

01/01/2027

As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly takes on the product designer role, an important yet understudied issue is how consumers evaluate the visual characteristics of AI design. This study examines how visual complexity shapes consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). On the basis of four experiments involving diverse product contexts (food, household products, and apparel) and different design objects (products and packaging), we find that consumers are willing to pay more for visually simple AI designs than visually complex designs. Drawing on signaling theory and cue utilization theory, we demonstrate that visual simple (vs. complex) AI designs increase willingness to pay by enhancing perceived restraint, which subsequently increases perceived luxuriousness. Importantly, this effect does not emerge for luxury brands, suggesting that consumers rely more heavily on visual simplicity as a value signal when brand-based luxury cues are relatively weak. As a result, the findings offer directional guidance when firms consider the incorporation of AI-generated designs—particularly mainstream brands. Together, these findings contribute to the literature by shedding light on consumer aesthetic judgments in the domain of AI design.