WHEN AI BECOMES THE BRAND ITSELF: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMIC BRANDING, CONSUMER TRUST, AND BRAND EQUITY

With the integration of artificial intelligence in marketing, branding has now become an algorithmic procedure with the algorithm representing the brand. This study uses statistical models and quantitative methods for analysis to understand the impact of algorithmic branding on trust, engagement, and equity in the Saudi market. This research uses branding and engagement theories and has adopted an analytical approach using both qualitative and quantitative insights. The study was conducted through an experimental survey model among 420 participants in the Saudi digital market. Through correlation, regression, and mediations, the findings suggest high positive correlations between exposure, trust, engagement, and equity (r > 0.70). From the statistical model, the following factors have been established: the algorithmic brand has a significant impact on building consumer trust (β = 0.67, p < 0.001) and brand equity (β = 0.72, p < 0.001), with the presence of engagement as a partial mediator. Further validation of the importance of authenticity, transparency, and emotional connections in the maintenance of the algorithmic brand's credibility in the Saudi Arabian AI-driven context is supported by the application of the ‘thematic analysis.’ Further analysis of the results obtained indicates that the algorithmic brand acts like an intelligent brand identity system that sustains the conversion of technology-based interaction to the cognitive and affective levels within the context of the Saudi Arabian AI-driven environment.