Someone out there? A study on the social presence of anthropomorphized chatbots

作者:

Highlights:

• Chatbots are increasingly equipped with human-like characteristics.

• This anthropomorphization of chatbots favorably impacts relevant customer outcomes.

• Three experiments show social presence as underlying mechanism of this effect.

• The findings are robust and not contingent on different shopping contexts.

• The study offers guidance for companies seeking to employ chatbots in e-commerce.

摘要

•Chatbots are increasingly equipped with human-like characteristics.•This anthropomorphization of chatbots favorably impacts relevant customer outcomes.•Three experiments show social presence as underlying mechanism of this effect.•The findings are robust and not contingent on different shopping contexts.•The study offers guidance for companies seeking to employ chatbots in e-commerce.

论文关键词:Chatbots,Anthropomorphism,Social presence,Utilitarian,Hedonic,Sensitive information

论文评审过程:Received 16 March 2022, Revised 24 June 2022, Accepted 2 October 2022, Available online 8 October 2022, Version of Record 15 October 2022.

论文官网地址:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107513