International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology

The International Promotion Agency of Culture Technology (국제문화기술진흥원)
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Consumer Perception of Chatbots and Purchase Intentions: Anthropomorphism and Conversational Relevance

  • Received : 2021.12.15
  • Accepted : 2022.03.08
  • Published : 2022.03.31
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Abstract

In this study, we aimed to define the effects of anthropomorphism and conversational relevance of chatbots on user experience. In specific, the chatbot designed for this study was an online shopping assistant that recommends items for consumers. Levels of anthropomorphism was manipulated by the name, profile picture, word choices, and emojis, while conversational relevance was adjusted by the depth and accuracy of the recommendation. Three categories of user experience were measured: psychological distance, usability, and purchase intentions. The results implied a significant main effect of conversational relevance on all variables for the high anthropomorphized conditions, while all but psychological distance was significant for low anthropomorphized conditions. Although there was no significant main effect of anthropomorphism observed for the variables, the main effect of anthropomorphism on responsibility was marginally significant for a specific item. The results of this study may function as a guidance for future studies regarding usage of chatbots within a marketing setting.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF- 2019S1A5C2A03083499).

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