Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions
2026 · Published in Journal of Advertising 55(4): 439–461 · DOI 10.1080/00913367.2026.2652377
In one sentence
Consumers’ beliefs, literacy, public policy and public education lag behind AI-enabled advertising, and most people cannot tell AI-enabled ads from traditional ones without disclosure.
Summary
Guided by cultural lag theory and the persuasion knowledge model, the paper studies how consumers understand and cope with AI-enabled advertising in ad creation and ad placement. It draws on 12 focus groups across four generational cohorts (Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers). It identifies four cultural aspects that lag behind AI-enabled advertising: consumer beliefs, consumer knowledge and literacy, public policy, and public education. Most participants cannot distinguish AI-enabled ads from traditional ads without disclosure, and they use a range of coping strategies to deal with concerns about AI-created ads and data-privacy risks in AI-driven ad placement.
Abstract as published
Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the advertising industry, yet important research gaps remain in understanding: (a) the cultural dimensions lagging behind AI-enabled advertising, particularly in ad creation and ad placement; (b) consumer literacy and sensemaking of AI-enabled advertising; and (c) how consumers cope with AI-enabled ads and what solutions they recommend. Our research aims to fill these gaps, guided by the culture lag theory and persuasion knowledge model (PKM). We conducted 12 focus group discussions across different generational cohorts (Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers) and found four different cultural aspects that lag behind AI-enabled advertising: consumer beliefs; consumer knowledge and literacy; public policy; and public education. Most participants lack the literacy to differentiate AI-enabled ads from traditional ads in absence of AI disclosure, and they employ various coping strategies to address concerns over AI-enabled ad creation and data privacy risks from AI-enabled ad placement. Theoretically, we enrich the investigation leveraging on the theory of culture lag in explaining the discrepancy between technological development and social structures in context of AI and advertising. We also contribute to the application and theoretical understanding of PKM in AI-enabled advertising.
Citation
Chen Lou, Xuan Zhou, Elison Ai Ching Lim, Tao Chen, Edson C. Tandoc, Diotima Chattoraj (2026). Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions. Journal of Advertising, 55(4), 439–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2026.2652377
BibTeX
@article{lou2026cultural,
title = {{Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions}},
author = {Chen Lou and Xuan Zhou and Elison Ai Ching Lim and Tao Chen and Edson C. Tandoc and Diotima Chattoraj},
journal = {Journal of Advertising},
year = {2026},
volume = {55},
number = {4},
pages = {439--461},
doi = {10.1080/00913367.2026.2652377}
}