Adoption of AI-driven personalization in digital news platforms: An integrative model of technology acceptance and perceived contingency

This research demonstrates the usefulness of the integrative model of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the perceived contingency model in predicting the users’ adoption of AI-driven personalization in digital news platforms. We conducted an online survey with 1369 US adults randomly drawn from the national panel of Qualtrics. The results show that perceived contingency plays a crucial role in predicting the adoption of AI-powered news platforms, showing a significant direct effect and an indirect effect mediated by enhanced user engagement experience and positive attitude. Furthermore, the TAM variables are still important in predicting adoption behavior. • Technology adoption model (TAM) well explains the adoption of AI-powered news platforms. • Perceived contingency (CONT) is a critical complement to TAM in predicting adoption behavior. • User engagement and attitude sequentially mediate the effects of CONT on adoption behavior. • User engagement has a positive effect on adoption behavior.