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AI-Generated Content Disclosure and Prolonged Short-Video Engagement: A Heuristic-Systematic Risk-Trust Model Among
Yichen Xiao1, Juan Du2, Yidan Ding3
1School of Journalism and Information Communication, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
AI disclosure on TikTok initially boosts prolonged video watching but increases perceived risk and lowers trust, with AI literacy moderating effects. This impacts problematic social media use (PSMU) mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Media Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Generative AI Impact
Background:
- Algorithmic feeds in the generative AI era influence short-video engagement.
- Interface cues can encourage or interrupt repeated continuation decisions.
- Understanding AI-generated content disclosure's role is crucial for managing prolonged engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine if AI-generated content disclosure acts as digital friction for prolonged short-video engagement among young adults on TikTok.
- To test a dual-pathway risk-trust model examining disclosure's direct and indirect effects on prolonged watching intention.
- To investigate AI literacy as a boundary condition influencing these pathways.
Main Methods:
- An online between-subjects experiment with 720 participants aged 18-24.
- Utilized the heuristic-systematic model to frame the risk-trust model.
- Measured prolonged watching intention, perceived risk, content trust, and AI literacy.
Main Results:
- Disclosure had a positive direct effect on prolonged watching intention, acting as a novelty cue.
- Disclosure also increased perceived risk and reduced content trust, creating negative indirect pathways.
- AI literacy strengthened both the direct and indirect pathways.
Conclusions:
- AI disclosure functions as a behavioral cue, attracting attention while activating protective appraisals.
- Findings reposition AI disclosure beyond a transparency notice to a factor influencing user behavior.
- Contributes to understanding prolonged engagement and problematic social media use (PSMU) mechanisms in the digital age.
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