The Surprising Psychology of AI Marketing Robots
Psych 🧠 - 392/500
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What is it?
This research investigates how consumers respond to offers (e.g., prices, deals) that differ from their expectations, and whether their responses change based on whether the offer is administered by artificial intelligence (AI) or a human.
Major Findings:
AI is preferred for bad news, humans for good news: Consumers react less negatively to worse-than-expected offers (e.g., higher prices) when delivered by an AI agent, exhibiting higher purchase likelihood and satisfaction. Conversely, they respond more positively to better-than-expected offers (e.g., lower prices, upgrades) when delivered by a human agent.
Perceived intentions drive the effect: AI agents are seen as having weaker intentions (both selfish and benevolent) than human agents. This reduces the extremity of consumer reactions to offers: less negative when the offer is worse than expected (because the AI isn't perceived as intentionally trying to take advantage) and less positive when the offer is better than expected (because the AI isn't perceived as intentionally being generous).
Anthropomorphism moderates the effect: Giving AI human-like characteristics (e.g., a name, a face) increases perceived intentions, making consumer responses more similar to those elicited by human agents.
This offers a strategic tool for marketers: making the AI appear more humanlike can be beneficial for positive offers (to get credit for generosity) but detrimental for negative offers (to avoid blame).
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What do I need to know:
The type of agent matters: Consumer responses to offers are not solely driven by the objective value of the offer itself but are also influenced by the perceived intentions of the agent delivering the offer.
AI can buffer negative reactions: The perceived lack of intentionality in AI can make consumers less upset by worse-than-expected outcomes.
Humans are preferred for positive interactions: Consumers value the perceived benevolence and personal touch of human agents when receiving good news.
Anthropomorphism should be used strategically: Making AI appear more humanlike can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the nature of the offer.
Source:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00222429211066972