Caught Between Convenience and Autonomy: Psychological Dilemmas in Consumers' Use of AI‐Enabled Personalization

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled personalization offers consumers greater convenience and relevance, but also generates important psychological tensions. This research examines how consumers navigate the personalization‐privacy, convenience‐control, and connection‐isolation dilemmas that emerge in AI‐mediated environments. Drawing on Self‐Determination Theory, Psychological Reactance Theory, and human‐AI interaction research, three complementary studies were conducted. Study 1, a 2 × 2 experiment, demonstrates that trust cues strengthen consumers' willingness to adopt AI‐enabled personalization while mitigating privacy‐related concerns. Study 2 shows that anthropomorphic AI enhances empathy and perceived relatedness but may also increase feelings of isolation. Study 3, using PLS‐SEM and bootstrapped mediation analysis, confirms that perceived autonomy mediates the relationship between AI‐enabled convenience and adoption intentions, while reduced autonomy increases psychological reactance and lowers continued usage intentions. Collectively, the findings suggest that consumer responses to AI are shaped not only by technological benefits but also by perceptions of agency, control, and social connection. By conceptualizing AI‐enabled personalization as a system of interconnected psychological dilemmas organized around perceived autonomy, this research advances theory in consumer psychology and human‐AI interaction while offering practical guidance for designing AI‐enabled systems that support consumer autonomy, trust, and long‐term engagement.