How AI-Made Social Media Content Affects Brand Trust and Buying Intentions Among Generation Z Consumers in Pakistan: The Role of Brand Authenticity, Brand Trust, and Openness About AI Use

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed digital marketing. Brands can now use AI tools to create personal, low-cost social media content very quickly, much faster than people working alone could manage. Companies already use these tools to write captions, design graphics, and make videos for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. This study looks at that gap. It examines how AI-generated social media marketing content (AIGSMC) affects brand trust and buying intention among Generation Z consumers in Pakistan. It also looks at two factors that may explain this effect, brand authenticity and brand trust, and one factor that may change how strong this effect is: how openly a brand admits it used AI, known as AI disclosure transparency. The study will survey around 220 to 300 Generation Z consumers in Pakistan who use social media and have seen AI-made brand content. The data will be analyzed using PLS-SEM software (SmartPLS 4), following a two-step process that first tests the measurement model and then the structural model (Waworuntu et al., 2022; Werenowska & Jaska, 2025). The study expects to find that AI-generated content has a real, but conditional, effect on brand trust and buying intention, working step by step through authenticity and trust, and that clear disclosure about AI use can soften any negative effects. The findings aim to add to AI-marketing theory and to help marketers and policymakers in Pakistan.