<![CDATA[The rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven marketing offers small and medium enterprises (SMEs) an opportunity to manage customer relationships more precisely, yet evidence on how AI marketing shapes customer loyalty in Indonesian food SMEs remains limited and inconsistent. This study examines the effect of AI marketing on customer loyalty, both directly and through the mediation of brand awareness and brand image, using Kalfis Mackerel Fish-Bone Sticks as the case product. An explanatory quantitative design was applied to 200 purposively selected customers who had been exposed to the brand's Instagram promotion. Data were collected through a five-point Likert questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). AI marketing positively and significantly affected brand awareness (β = 0.577), brand image (β = 0.440), and customer loyalty (β = 0.409). Brand awareness (β = 0.186) and brand image (β = 0.323) also strengthened loyalty and partially mediated the effect of AI marketing (indirect β = 0.107 and 0.142, respectively). The model explained 54.3% of the variance in customer loyalty (Q² = 0.362). These findings position AI marketing as an antecedent of customer-based brand equity in small businesses and suggest that intelligent marketing investment is more productive when directed at building brand assets rather than pursuing short-term transactions. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence marketing; brand awareness; brand image; customer loyalty; PLS-SEM; SMEs.]]>
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