Artificial intelligence personalization and brand equity: The mediating role of consumer identity signaling

This study examines whether perceived artificial intelligence personalization (AIP) is associated with consumer-based brand equity (BE) and whether consumer identity signaling (CIS) accounts for part of that association in Pakistani e-commerce. Survey data were collected from 378 active e-commerce consumers between January and March 2026 and analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. AIP was positively associated with both BE and CIS, and CIS was positively associated with BE. Bootstrap estimates further indicated a statistically significant indirect association between AIP and BE through CIS, while the direct AIP-BE path remained significant, indicating partial mediation. The study contributes a context-specific test of how functional personalization cues may acquire symbolic value when consumers use brand-related recommendations to express identity. Because the design is cross-sectional and based on self-reports, the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. For practice, the results suggest that e-commerce firms should combine relevant personalization with consumer autonomy, transparency, and opportunities for identity-consistent brand engagement.