Conditional trust pathways in live-streaming commerce: how consumer motivation influences responses to human and AI anchors

Background AI anchors are increasingly deployed in live-streaming commerce, raising the question of whether they can substitute for human anchors. Prior studies have documented differences in consumer responses to these anchor types, but the psychological processes underlying trust formation remain unclear. This study approaches the question from a media psychology and human-machine communication perspective rather than focusing solely on commercial outcomes. Methods A between-subjects experimental design was employed. Participants ( N = 439) were randomly assigned to watch a live-streaming sales video hosted by either a human anchor or an AI anchor. Participants then completed measures of perceived intimacy, perceived responsiveness, trust, purchase intention, and motivational orientations (hedonic and utilitarian). A six-factor confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the measurement model, and moderated mediation analyses were conducted with heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors. Results Human anchors generated higher trust and purchase intention overall. Anchor type influenced trust through two asymmetric identity-based cue pathways. Perceived intimacy (a relational cue) mediated the effect of anchor type on trust, particularly when hedonic motivation was moderate to high. Perceived responsiveness (a functional cue) did not function as a general mediator; it became a significant pathway favoring AI anchors only when utilitarian motivation was high. At low utilitarian motivation, this pathway reversed direction. Conclusion Consumer trust in live-streaming commerce is a conditional, motivation-dependent process rather than a uniform preference for either anchor type. Human anchors build trust through a broadly effective relational pathway, while AI anchors’ functional advantage converts into trust only under specific motivational conditions. These findings suggest that AI anchors will not broadly replace human anchors, but can be strategically effective when matched to efficiency-oriented consumer goals.