Factors Affecting Customer Readiness to Trust Chatbots in an Online Shopping Context

AI Chatbot Studies

Examining user behavior in chatbots has been a topic of significant interest in academic research in recent years. The examination of chatbot adoption involves the analysis of various models and frameworks to understand the factors influencing the acceptance and usage of chatbots. Several theoretical models have been proposed in the literature to explain user behavior and adoption patterns in different domains. For example, Silva et al. (2023) have applied the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine customer reuse intentions of chatbot-based services. Similarly, Pillai and Sivathanu (2020) have adopted the TAM as a theoretical model to investigate the actual usage of chatbots in the hospitality and tourism domain. Almaiah et al. (2022) have applied the innovation diffusion theory within the online learning domain. James et al. (2023) have applied the information systems success model to examine users’ experience of housing and real estate chatbots. Ashfaq et al. (2020) combine the technology acceptance model with the information system success model and the expectation-confirmation model to examine users’ continuance intention to use chatbot customer service. Table 1 provides a list of some of the recent studies that examined AI chatbot technology and the theoretical models adopted in these studies.

In summary, the focus of previous studies has been on exploring the factors that affect users’ intention to adopt chatbots in different domains using different theoretical models. However, there remains a lack of research on the factors that affect customers’ trust in chatbots. In an online purchase process, customers are influenced by several factors that can make them trust chatbots, which will in turn motivate them to accept using them in obtaining product information, answering their queries, and making purchase decisions. Therefore, this research utilizes the TRI and the UTAUT model as a theoretical foundation to examine the factors that motivate customers to trust chatbots in an online shopping context.