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Humanizing voice assistant: The impact of voice assistant personality on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors

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  • Poushneh, Atieh

Abstract

A voice assistant (VA), a type of voice-enabled artificial intelligence, is no longer just a character in science fiction movies. Currently, voice is embedded in a variety of products such as smartphones (mobile applications) and smart speakers in consumers' homes. Furthermore, voice assistants are becoming integral to our daily lives. While human personalities shape the way we interact with the world, voice assistant personalities can also impact everyday interactions with our environment. This study identifies seven voice assistant personality traits (VAP) of three commonly used mobile applications: Microsoft's Cortana, Google's Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. To examine the effect of VAP on consumer experience, this study applies and extends flow theory to uncover why VAP has the effects it has and what facets of VAP drive the voice interaction flow experience that can influence consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions. Our study shows that voice interaction with a VA that incorporates functional intelligence, sincerity, and creativity empowers consumers to take control of their voice interactions with the VA, focus on their voice interaction, and engage in exploratory behavior. Consumers' exploratory behavior leads to consumer satisfaction and consumers' willingness to continue using voice assistant.

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  • Poushneh, Atieh, 2021. "Humanizing voice assistant: The impact of voice assistant personality on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:58:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920312911
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102283
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    8. Kang, Weiyao & Shao, Bingjia & Du, Shan & Chen, Hongquan & Zhang, Yong, 2024. "How to improve voice assistant evaluations: Understanding the role of attachment with a socio-technical systems perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
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    12. Wang, Xueqin & Wong, Yiik Diew & Liu, Feng & Yuen, Kum Fai, 2021. "A push–pull–mooring view on technology-dependent shopping under social distancing: When technology needs meet health concerns," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    13. Maria Vernuccio & Michela Patrizi & Maja Šerić & Alberto Pastore, 2023. "The perceptual antecedents of brand anthropomorphism in the name-brand voice assistant context," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 302-317, July.
    14. Kang, Weiyao & Shao, Bingjia, 2023. "The impact of voice assistants’ intelligent attributes on consumer well-being: Findings from PLS-SEM and fsQCA," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    15. Ertugrul Uysal & Sascha Alavi & Valéry Bezençon, 2022. "Trojan horse or useful helper? A relationship perspective on artificial intelligence assistants with humanlike features," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 1153-1175, November.
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    17. Pei Li & Chunmao Wu & Charles Spence, 2023. "Comparing the influence of visual information and the perceived intelligence of voice assistants when shopping for sustainable clothing online," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    18. Li, Chia-Ying & Zhang, Jin-Ting, 2023. "Chatbots or me? Consumers’ switching between human agents and conversational agents," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Li, Chia-Ying & Fang, Yu-Hui & Chiang, Yu-Hung, 2023. "Can AI chatbots help retain customers? An integrative perspective using affordance theory and service-domain logic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    20. Badghish, Saeed & Shaik, Aqueeb Sohail & Sahore, Nidhi & Srivastava, Shalini & Masood, Ayesha, 2024. "Can transactional use of AI-controlled voice assistants for service delivery pickup pace in the near future? A social learning theory (SLT) perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
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    22. Frank, Darius-Aurel & Otterbring, Tobias, 2023. "Being seen… by human or machine? Acknowledgment effects on customer responses differ between human and robotic service workers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

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