Is Similarity in Advertising a Double-Edged Sword? The Role of AI-Generated Faces
Abstract
Generative AI technologies enable advertising practitioners with new possibilities for hyper-personalized advertising. In this research note, we focus specifically on AI-generated faces (AGF) and investigate its effects on advertising effectiveness. This paper has three main contributions. First, it presents a methodologically innovative way to measure facial similarity by building advances in AI. Second, it contributes theoretically by introducing the too-similar-to-me effect in advertising. Third, it empirically assesses the optimal range of facial similarity, which is of managerial importance when building advertising campaigns. This study provides practitioners with key guidelines on how to successfully embed generative AI technology for advertising.
Fields of Study & Subjects
AI in Service Interactions
Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Advertising Research
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 190–198
- Publication date
- 24 March 2026
- Language
- EN