Consumer decisions with artificially intelligent voice assistants

Abstract

Consumers are widely adopting Artificially Intelligent Voice Assistants (AIVAs). AIVAs now handle many different everyday tasks and are also increasingly assisting consumers with purchasing decisions, making AIVAs a rich topic for marketing researchers. We develop a series of propositions regarding how consumer decision-making processes may change when moved from traditional online purchase environments to AI-powered voicebased dialogs, in the hopes of encouraging further academic thinking and research in this rapidly developing, high impact area of consumer-firm interaction. We also provide suggestions for marketing managers and policymakers on points to pay attention to when they respond to the proposed effects of AIVAs on consumer decisions. Keywords Artificial intelligence. Voice assistants. Consumer decision-making. Consumer dialogs. Digital marketing. Consumer models Artificially Intelligent interactive Voice Assistants (AIVAs), also known as Voice-Activated Personal Assistants or Smart-Home Personal Assistants, have become widely adopted by consumers as aids in a variety of everyday tasks. AIVAs currently handle over one billion tasks per month, with the majority of uses being simple information requests ("Cortana, what is the weather today?") or household commands ("Ok Google, turn on the lights.").

Blaming automated vehicles in difficult situations

“…Understanding people's attitudes is key to identifying these considerations, and working to address any potential concerns ( Shariff et al., 2017 ; Schlögl et al, 2019 ; Sun and Medaglia, 2019 ; Bonnefon et al., 2020 ; Dellaert et al., 2020 ). The public's views and trust toward AVs is a major factor that predicts adoption of autonomous vehicles ( Lee and Moray, 1992 , 1994 ; Gefen et al, 2003 ; Carter and Bélanger, 2005 ).…”

The Role of Trusting Beliefs in Voice Assistants during Voice Shopping

“…That is due to their ability to collect data systematically and silently over time [5]. As such, VAs can be conceptualized as interaction decision aid tools that promise fast, repeatable and lowcost decision-making combined with an increased level of accuracy, achieved through network effects and feedback loops [8,20,33].…”

“…Over 200 million in-home voice assistants are installed globally [23], with a dominance of U.S. (Amazon Echo, Google Home) and China-based manufacturers (Alibaba Tmall Genie, Xiaomi Xiao AI). Voice assistants register the fastest development rate for a new technological medium, even above smartphones and tablets [8]. The term 'voice assistant' refers to conversational agents having the ability to self-improve their understanding of the interlocutor and context [33].…”

“…Consequently, they have the potential to substantially alter the process of product search and selection [6,40,32,34]; however, little is known about consumers' decision-making in connection to the unique relationship users develop with VAs [42]. The social nature and uncommon choice framing of shopping-related VAs require new theories that have not yet been fully developed [8].…”

Blaming Automated Vehicles in Difficult Situations

“…However, these benefits will not be realized if people are not ready to buy them, and various considerations contribute to the public's aversion to adopting this technology. Understanding people's attitudes is key to identifying these considerations, and working to address any potential concerns (Shariff et al, 2017;Schlö gl et al, 2019;Sun and Medaglia, 2019;Bonnefon et al, 2020;Dellaert et al, 2020). The public's views and trust toward AVs is a major factor that predicts adoption of autonomous vehicles Moray, 1992, 1994;Gefen et al, 2003;Carter and Bé langer, 2005).…”