Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is transforming how consumers create and share content online. This study examines how the availability of Gen AI influences the volume and characteristics of consumer reviews. We exploit the sudden, four-week ban of ChatGPT in Italy as a quasi-experiment and implement a difference-in-differences design comparing TripAdvisor reviews of 1930 hotels in Italy to 2979 hotels in Germany, France, Spain, and Greece, where no ban was imposed. Our results show that ChatGPT availability leads to higher review volume and length, particularly for reviews written on desktop devices. The findings are consistent with reduced effort from Gen AI usage as a potential underlying mechanism. In addition, ChatGPT availability leads to more subjective review content and more extreme sentiment in review text. These findings contribute to the emerging literature on the consumer impact of Gen AI and provide insights into how AI-assisted content generation influences online word-of-mouth behavior.
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