Abstract
Chatbots have been pervasively applied in online retailing to communicate with customers. However, attracting and converting customers with chatbots remains a challenge, and little is known about whether and how chatbots’ communication traits influence customer purchase intention. This study draws upon the stereotype content model to identify warmth and competence as two distinct traits of chatbot communication. Then the interpersonal attraction theory is employed to pinpoint perceived attraction as the underlying mechanism, where customer-chatbot similarity of communication trait plays a contingent role in shaping perceived attraction. Through a mixed method design, we found that chatbots with communication trait of competence yield higher perceived attraction, facilitating customer purchase intention. When similarity of dyadic communication traits exists, customers perceive a higher attraction toward chatbots with warmth. Our findings contribute to the literature on chatbot anthropomorphism and customer behavior. The study also provides practical insights into chatbot design for online retailing.
DOI
10.17705/1jais.00931
Recommended Citation
Tan, Ran; Li, Yang; Huang, Qian; and Liu, Hefu J., "Enhancing Customer Service Chatbot Effectiveness: The Effect of Dyadic Communication Traits on Customer Purchase Intention" (2025). JAIS Preprints (Forthcoming). 180.
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00931
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais_preprints/180