ABSTRACT

Online users are increasingly exposed to chatbots as one form of AI-enabled media technologies, employed for persuasive purposes, e.g., making product/service recommendations. However, the persuasive potential of chatbots has not yet been fully explored. Using an online experiment (N = 242), we investigate the extent to which communicating with a stand-alone chatbot influences affective and behavioral responses compared to interactive Web sites. Several underlying mechanisms are studied, showing that enjoyment is the key mechanism explaining the positive effect of chatbots (vs. Web sites) on recommendation adherence and attitudes. Contrary to expectations, perceived anthropomorphism seems not to be particularly relevant in this comparison.

摘要

在线用户越来越多地使用聊天机器人，这是一种具有人工智能功能的媒体技术，用于说服性目的，例如提出产品/服务建议。但是，聊天机器人的说服力潜力尚未得到充分挖掘。通过在线实验（N = 242），我们研究了与独立聊天机器人进行通信的程度与交互式网站相比对情感和行为响应的影响程度。研究了几种潜在的机制，表明享受是解释聊天机器人（相对于网站）对推荐依从性和态度的积极影响的关键机制。与期望相反，在这种比较中，感知到的拟人化似乎并不特别相关。