Understanding Consumer Resistance to AI-Powered Marketing in Indonesia

Abstract

As the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has followed global digitalization trends, including digital marketing that is changing due to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to become more personalized, efficient, and competitive. Therefore, this article aims to explain a more localized understanding of technology adoption in marketing, by highlighting the unique challenges faced in emerging markets including Indonesia which faces its own challenges regarding AI acceptance. Through a qualitative approach with descriptive methods, the research findings show that AI-based marketing uses technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and predictive analytics to create highly personalized, automated, and data-driven strategies that improve consumer interactions, simplify operations, and help businesses grow in various fields. It can be concluded that the adoption of AI-based marketing in Indonesia is still low due to limited digital literacy, emotional and cultural resistance, lack of trust and transparency, inadequate infrastructure, and the absence of local communication strategies that align with consumer values ​​and expectations. The impact of this research is expected to enriches the literature on AI adoption in marketing by providing a localized, Indonesian perspective so that companies can design AI-powered marketing campaigns that are not only technologically advanced but also culturally sensitive and aligned with Indonesian consumer values.