PurposeConversational agents (chatbots, avatars and robots) are increasingly substituting human employees in service encounters. Their presence offers many potential benefits, but customers are ...reluctant to engage with them. A possible explanation is that conversational agents do not make optimal use of communicative behaviors that enhance relational outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to identify which human-like communicative behaviors used by conversational agents have positive effects on relational outcomes and which additional behaviors could be investigated in future research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a systematic review of 61 articles that investigated the effects of communicative behaviors used by conversational agents on relational outcomes. A taxonomy is created of all behaviors investigated in these studies, and a research agenda is constructed on the basis of an analysis of their effects and a comparison with the literature on human-to-human service encounters.FindingsThe communicative behaviors can be classified along two dimensions: modality (verbal, nonverbal, appearance) and footing (similarity, responsiveness). Regarding the research agenda, it is noteworthy that some categories of behaviors show mixed results and some behaviors that are effective in human-to-human interactions have not yet been investigated in conversational agents.Practical implicationsBy identifying potentially effective communicative behaviors in conversational agents, this study assists managers in optimizing encounters between conversational agents and customers.Originality/valueThis is the first study that develops a taxonomy of communicative behaviors in conversational agents and uses it to identify avenues for future research.
PurposeChatbots represent an innovative channel for retailers to meet young customers' needs anywhere and at any time. Being an emergent technology, however, it is important to investigate more ...thoroughly how users perceive it, and which are the variables that enhance a positive attitude towards this technology. On this premise, this study applies a social relationship perspective to the design of chatbots addressed to younger consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a between-participants factorial design to investigate the effects of visual cues (avatar presence vs avatar absence) and interaction styles (social-oriented vs task-oriented) on social presence and how this, in turn, enhances millennials' perceived enjoyment, trust and, ultimately, attitude towards the chatbot. A survey experiment was employed to conduct the study on data collected from 193 Italian millennials.FindingsThe results show that applying a social-oriented interaction style increases users' perception of social presence, while an insignificant effect was found for avatar presence. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis further confirms the hypothesised model.Originality/valueThe adoption of new digital technologies such as chatbots is likely to have a far reaching effect on retailers, consumers, employees and society. For this reason, a broad understanding of the phenomenon is needed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide results from an experimental design in which both interaction style (social- vs task-oriented) and avatar (presence vs absence) of a chatbot are manipulated to directly explore social presence and its effect on trust, perceived enjoyment and millennials' attitude towards a chatbot applied for retailing purposes.
PurposeThis study presents one of the earliest empirical investigations on how brand chatbots' anthropomorphic design and social presence communication strategies may improve consumer evaluation ...outcomes via the mediators of parasocial interaction and perceived dialogue.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a 2 (high vs. low social presence communication) by 2 (anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic bot profile) between-subject experimental design to evaluate how chatbots' high social presence communication and anthropomorphic profile design may enhance perceptions of parasocial interactions and dialogue with the chatbot, which in turn drive user engagement, interaction satisfaction and attitude toward the represented brand.FindingsThe influences of chatbots' high social presence communication on consumer engagement outcomes are mediated by perceived parasocial interaction and dialogue. Additionally, chatbots' anthropomorphic profile design can boost the positive effects of social presence communication via the psychological mediators.Originality/valueThis study advances the interactive marketing literature by focusing on an emerging interactive technology, chatbots. Additionally, distinct from prior chatbot studies that focused on the utilitarian use of chatbots for online customer support, this study not only examines which factors of chatbot communication and profile design may drive chatbot effectiveness but also examines the mechanism underlying the messaging and design effects on consumer engagement. The findings highlight the mediating role of interpersonal factors of parasocial interaction and perceived dialogue.
The research investigates the effects of chatbot-delivered verbal (inspirational appeals) and non-verbal (ingratiation) cues on customers’ purchase intentions on social commerce pages (study one). ...The research using a multi-method approach also investigates the role of social presence and ulterior motives in explaining the effects of the chatbot-delivered human-like cues on customers’ purchase intentions (study two). Study one employs an experiment, followed by a structural equation model in study two. The results of study two enable the researchers to triangulate the results of study one and to understand the underlying causes of those results. The data was collected through an online experiment and an online survey for the two studies. The research reports that: (1) inspirational appeals delivered by chatbots positively influence purchase intentions; (2) ingratiation delivered using double-tap by chatbots does not significantly affect purchase intentions. The current research represents one of the first attempts to explore the influence of inspirational appeal and ingratiation delivered through chatbots on s-commerce purchase intentions. The findings of the study provide managerial insights to social commerce pages that could help engage customers and circumvent the attribution of ulterior motives while making a sale.
Service outcome valence is a prominent contextual factor that has been under-researched in studies of consumer response to automated service-givers. We investigate whether consumers respond ...differently to chatbot and human customer service when faced with positive versus negative service outcomes. We also explore the role of perceived empathy as a potential mediator in the focal relationship. 714 individuals participated in three studies based on the vignette method. Study participants reported significantly lower satisfaction, repatronage intentions, recommendation acceptance, and recommending the provider to others following interactions with a chatbot compared with a human agent in both positive and negative service outcome conditions. The effect was fully mediated by the service-giver's perceived empathy. Increasing a chatbot's perceived empathy via more empathetic communication (but not human-like appearance) improved consumer evaluations of chatbot service relative to a less empathetic chatbot configuration and matched evaluations of the human agent. A fourth study involved a quasi-experiment in which 100 individuals interacted with ChatGPT to obtain medical advice. This study corroborated our conclusions about the impact of perceived empathy on consumers' service experience and provider ratings.
Research is needed to identify novel ways to influence Generation Z female consumers' behavior when they interact with various technologies. This study investigates how experiences of using augmented ...reality, artificial intelligence‐enabled chatbots, and social media when interacting with beauty brands affect body image, self‐esteem, and purchase behavior among female consumers in Generation Z. Through three studies, we propose and test a model drawing on social comparison theory. In Study 1, a survey was completed by Generation Z women (n = 1118). In Study 2 and Study 3, two laboratory experiments were conducted with Generation Z women in Malaysia (n = 250 and n = 200). We show that (1) Generation Z women's perceived augmentation positively affects their body image, self‐esteem, and actual purchase behavior; (2) although trust in social media celebrities positively affects Generation Z women's body image and self‐esteem, the addictive use of social media does not have significant effects; (3) the chatbot support type (assistant vs. friend) has a significant impact on these women's experience; and (4) brand attachment, reputation, and awareness do not have significant effects. This article provides important implications for theory and practice on the behavior of Generation Z females when interacting with various technologies.
This systematic review aimed to evaluate AI chatbot characteristics, functions, and core conversational capacities and investigate whether AI chatbot interventions were effective in changing physical ...activity, healthy eating, weight management behaviors, and other related health outcomes.
In collaboration with a medical librarian, six electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and IEEE) were searched to identify relevant studies. Only randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies were included. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers, and any discrepancy was resolved by a third reviewer. The National Institutes of Health quality assessment tools were used to assess risk of bias in individual studies. We applied the AI Chatbot Behavior Change Model to characterize components of chatbot interventions, including chatbot characteristics, persuasive and relational capacity, and evaluation of outcomes.
The database search retrieved 1692 citations, and 9 studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the 9 studies, 4 were randomized controlled trials and 5 were quasi-experimental studies. Five out of the seven studies suggest chatbot interventions are promising strategies in increasing physical activity. In contrast, the number of studies focusing on changing diet and weight status was limited. Outcome assessments, however, were reported inconsistently across the studies. Eighty-nine and thirty-three percent of the studies specified a name and gender (i.e., woman) of the chatbot, respectively. Over half (56%) of the studies used a constrained chatbot (i.e., rule-based), while the remaining studies used unconstrained chatbots that resemble human-to-human communication.
Chatbots may improve physical activity, but we were not able to make definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of chatbot interventions on physical activity, diet, and weight management/loss. Application of AI chatbots is an emerging field of research in lifestyle modification programs and is expected to grow exponentially. Thus, standardization of designing and reporting chatbot interventions is warranted in the near future.
International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42020216761 .
Purpose
Drawing on the self-determination theory, the assemblage theory and customer experience literature, this paper aims to develop a framework to understand motivational customer experiences with ...chatbots.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a multimethod approach to examine the interaction between individuals and airlines’ chatbots. Three components of self-determined interaction with the chatbot (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and five components of the customer–chatbot experience (sensory, intellectual, affective, behavioral and social) are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.
Findings
The findings confirm the direct influence of self-determined interaction on customer experience and the direct effects of these two constructs on participants’ attitudes toward and satisfaction with the chatbot. The model also supports the mediating roles of customer experience and attitude toward the chatbot.
Practical implications
This paper offers managers a broad understanding of individuals’ interactions with chatbots through three elements: motivation to use chatbots, experiential responses and individuals’ valuation of whether the interactions have amplified (or limited) the outcomes obtained from the experience.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the hospitality and tourism literature with a hybrid approach that reflects on current theoretical developments regarding human- and interaction-centric interpretations of customer experience with chatbots.
Although an underdog brand positioning can elicit positive consumer responses, maintaining a brand's positioning requires maintaining consistent brand associations. If the associations created by the ...company's service providers do not align with the brand's positioning, this discrepancy can lead to consumer confusion or to a decline in brand attitudes. Chatbots, as customer‐facing representatives, play a crucial role in how consumers perceive and evaluate a brand. However, the role of chatbots in shaping brand attitude has not been extensively studied. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of chatbot conversational styles on consumers' perceptions of the fit between a brand's positioning and its messaging, focusing on both “top‐dog” and “underdog” brands. This study demonstrates that underdog brands using chatbots with warm conversational styles and top‐dog brands using chatbots with competent (i.e., professional) conversational styles foster positive brand evaluations by consumers through perceived fit. Additionally, this study introduces the concept of power state—an individual's degree of perceived control over their surroundings—as a moderator in human–chatbot interactions, demonstrating that high‐power‐state consumers of top‐dog brands favor a competent conversational style, whereas low‐power‐state consumers favor a warm conversational style regardless of the brand's positioning.
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