A study conducted at The Ohio State University has revealed that consumers prefer interacting with chatbots rather than human customer service agents when purchasing embarrassing products online. The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, found that when individuals have self-presentation concerns and worry about being judged by others, they feel less embarrassed dealing with chatbots than with humans. This preference for chatbots was particularly evident when purchasing items like antidiarrheal medicine or skin care products.
In one of the studies conducted as part of the research, participants were asked to choose between online drugstores that used chatbots or human service agents when buying either antidiarrheal or hay fever medication. The results showed that when buying antidiarrheal medicine, 81% of participants chose the store with chatbots, while 91% preferred the store with human service agents when purchasing hay fever medication. These findings highlight the influence of self-presentation concerns on consumer preferences for interacting with chatbots.
Furthermore, the study examined the impact of how human-like the chatbots appeared and acted onscreen. Participants were shown chat icons with varying degrees of humanity, from a simple speech bubble to a cartoon of a human to a profile picture of a real human woman. The results indicated that participants were more willing to receive information about embarrassing products from chatbots than from human agents. However, the use of emotional language by a chatbot with a human cartoon avatar led to less willingness to interact, as it triggered concerns about potential human-like qualities.
One of the researchers designed a chatbot and had participants engage in a real interaction to explore consumer behavior when interacting with chatbots versus human agents. Participants who had self-presentation concerns related to their skin were more likely to provide their email address to a chatbot than a human representative. This suggests that consumers prefer chatbots when dealing with embarrassing topics due to the perception that chatbots lack the ability to judge or feel emotions, thereby reducing feelings of embarrassment.
The implications of these findings suggest that companies should consider the role of chatbots in addressing consumer self-presentation concerns. As conversational AI technology advances, there may be challenges for companies in clearly disclosing the use of chatbots versus human service agents. Consumers may increasingly find it difficult to distinguish between chatbots and humans, making it crucial for firms to disclose the use of chatbots to build trust and transparency with customers. Overall, the study underscores the importance of understanding consumer preferences for chatbots in specific situations, especially when dealing with sensitive or embarrassing topics.