<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed service deliveries. However, prior research has not sufficiently investigated the role of AI service quality in brand building, and research findings on the influence of AI-enabled services on marketing remain inconsistent. This paper investigates the impact of AI service quality on brand loyalty, considering the contingent effects of brand innovativeness, brand ethicality, consumer innovativeness, and privacy concerns. With a sample of 382 Chinese online retail customers, the study finds that AI service quality positively affects brand loyalty. Moreover, brand innovativeness, brand ethicality, and consumer innovativeness strengthen this positive effect, while privacy concern weakens it. The research highlights the impacts of brand attributes and customer characteristics on brand loyalty. Consequently, these findings contribute a novel perspective on brand building in the virtual realm and extend previous branding research. This provides valuable insights for brands to capture the value of AI services within the digital landscape.</p>