A study on the influence of service robots’ level of anthropomorphism on the willingness of users to follow their recommendations

Abstract

Service robots are increasingly deployed in various industries including tourism. In spite of extensive research on the user’s experience in interaction with these robots, there are yet unanswered questions about the factors that influence user’s compliance. Through three online studies, we investigate the effect of the robot anthropomorphism and language style on customers’ willingness to follow its recommendations. The mediating role of the perceived mind and persuasiveness in this relationship is also investigated. Study 1 (n = 89) shows that a service robot with a higher level of anthropomorphic features positively influences the willingness of users to follow its recommendations while language style does not affect compliance. Study 2a (n = 168) further confirms this finding when we presented participants with a tablet vs. a service robot with an anthropomorphic appearance while communication style does not affect compliance. Finally, Study 2b (n = 122) supports the indirect effect of anthropomorphism level on the willingness to follow recommendations through perceived mind followed by persuasiveness. The findings provide valuable insight to enhance human–robot interaction in service settings.

Consumer–machine relationships in the age of artificial intelligence: Systematic literature review and research directions

“…Likewise, AI robot's human likeness and intelligence improve customer hospitality experience via rapport building (Qiu et al, 2020), and e‐commerce chatbot competence reduces customer intention to switch to a human agent by increasing trust (Cheng et al, 2022). Finally, Abdi et al (2022) find that anthropomorphic service AI robots influence hospitality consumer willingness to follow their recommendation by increasing perceptions of cognition, “perceived mind,” and persuasiveness. In the customer–AI collaboration context, AI agent's intimate self‐disclosure increases consumer attribution of credit for task success to AI through the process of relational closeness (Li & Rau, 2019).…”

“…Experimental methodologies, on the other hand, tend to focus on whether certain features of AI can alter relationship development. For instance, experimental studies focus on how chatbot features such as anthropomorphism (Abdi et al, 2022;Crolic et al, 2022), empathy (de Gennaro et al, 2020Liu-Thompkins et al, 2022), human likeness (Letheren et al, 2021;, and levels of supportiveness (Meng & Dai, 2021) affect relational outcomes.…”

“…Experimental methodologies, on the other hand, tend to focus on whether certain features of AI can alter relationship development. For instance, experimental studies focus on how chatbot features such as anthropomorphism (Abdi et al, 2022; Crolic et al, 2022), empathy (de Gennaro et al, 2020; Liu‐Thompkins et al, 2022), human likeness (Letheren et al, 2021; Li et al, 2022), and levels of supportiveness (Meng & Dai, 2021) affect relational outcomes. Whereas surveys and experiments focus on sentiments and potential mechanisms that can enhance or detract from human–AI relationships, qualitative studies, such as interviews, explore rich insights into a broader perspective on topics such as trust and reciprocity (Brandtzaeg et al, 2022), companionship (Jiang et al, 2022), and processes for relationship development (Pentina et al, 2023; Skjuve et al, 2021), and are more exploratory in nature.…”

“…Since the main goal of social AI is facilitating the processes of interaction and communication, customers have expectations for the technology to not only exhibit social cues, but also demonstrate the theory of mind (ability to infer others' beliefs, intents, and desires) by referring to prior conversations and shared experiences and histories with the users (Croes et al, 2022). In a study from our sample, perceiving the mind in an AI service robot increases the robot's persuasiveness and customer willingness to follow its recommendations in the hospitality context (Abdi et al, 2022). Uysal et al (2022) propose that customers are motivated to assign a mind to AI agents to be able to predict and understand their behaviors, which, in turn, increases perceptions of similarity, closeness, and trust, potentially leading to a relationship.…”

Retail robots as sales assistants: how speciesism moderates the effect of robot intelligence on customer perceptions and behaviour

“…van Doorn et al ., 2017). Anthropomorphism refers to the individuals' cognitive process of assigning unique human attributes and characteristics, especially physical appearance or physical reactions, to non-human agents (Abdi et al ., 2022; Cheng, 2022; Epley et al ., 2007). In this sense, AI-based intellectual intelligence can be understood as a replica of human intelligence, as it reflects humans' cognitive intelligence (Siau and Yang, 2017), making HSRs more human-like (Lv et al.…”