ABSTRACT

Increased use of artificial intelligence service agents (AISA) has been associated with improvements in AISA service performance. Whilst there is consensus that unique forms of attachment develop between users and AISA that manifest as parasocial relationships (PSRs), the literature is less clear about the AISA service attributes and how they influence PSR and the users’ subjective well-being. Based on a dataset collected from 408 virtual assistant users from the US, this research develops and tests a model that can explain how AISA-enabled service influences subjective well-being through the mediating effect of PSR. Findings also indicate significant gender and AISA experience differences in the PSR effect on subjective well-being. This study advances current understanding of AISA in service encounters by investigating the mediating role of PSR in AISA’s effect on users’ subjective well-being. We also discuss managerial implications for practitioners who are increasingly using AISA for delivering customer service.

摘要

人工智能服务代理 (AISA) 的使用增加与 AISA 服务性能的改进有关。虽然人们一致认为，用户和 AISA 之间会形成独特的依恋形式，表现为准社会关系 (PSR)，但关于 AISA 服务属性以及它们如何影响 PSR 和用户的主观幸福感的文献尚不清楚。基于从美国 408 位虚拟助理用户收集的数据集，本研究开发并测试了一个模型，该模型可以解释启用 AISA 的服务如何通过 PSR 的中介效应影响主观幸福感。研究结果还表明 PSR 对主观幸福感的影响存在显着的性别和 AISA 经验差异。本研究通过调查 PSR 在 AISA 对用户主观幸福感的影响中的中介作用，推进了当前对服务遭遇中 AISA 的理解。我们还讨论了对越来越多地使用 AISA 提供客户服务的从业者的管理影响。