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title: As AI Expands, Consumers Will Still Prefer Some Products Made With a Human Touch
description: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝙁𝘼𝙎𝙏. Stefano Puntoni, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, summarizes his team’s research into...
image: https://ourthinking.think-gen.com/hubfs/ThinkFAST!-Jul-24-2023-07-53-13-4547-PM.png
---

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# As AI Expands, Consumers Will Still Prefer Some Products Made With a Human Touch

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝙁𝘼𝙎𝙏. Stefano Puntoni, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, summarizes his team’s research into drivers of consumer preference for products and services that rely on human labor vs. robots or AI.

“… we found a stronger preference for human labor when consumption has symbolic qualities.  Human labor is associated with uniqueness, which consumers seek in symbolic consumption, while machines are linked to repetition and standardization.

“In one study, consumers preferred reading glasses where the frame – a fashion accessory, and hence symbolic – was made by hand vs. machine.  But they preferred glasses with machine-made lenses since they are less symbolic, and more purely functional.”

We at ThinkGen know that context matters.  This is why context is a node in our Habit Cycle(SM) – and one that is foundational to how people make decisions in healthcare settings.

[https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-products-marketing-human-made-14a1f7e1?st=73mmdlofx8gaser&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink](https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-products-marketing-human-made-14a1f7e1?st=73mmdlofx8gaser&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)

To learn more about ThinkGen’s Habit Lens(SM):  [https://think-gen.com/habit-lens](https://think-gen.com/habit-lens)

To view more ThinkFast posts: [https://bit.ly/3WfKNeS](https://bit.ly/3WfKNeS)

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