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Understanding the user satisfaction and loyalty of customer service chatbots

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  • Hsu, Chin-Lung
  • Lin, Judy Chuan-Chuan

Abstract

The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is emerging as a significant corporate customer-facing application, potentially increasin customer service efficiency while reducing costs. However, little work has sought to assess the quality of service they provide consumers. This study applies the e-service quality by incorporating conversational AI quality to predict users' satisfaction and loyalty to customer service chatbots. The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 219 users responding about their perceptions of customer service chatbots. The findings indicate that AI chatbot service recovery quality and AI chatbot conversational quality significantly influence user satisfaction. On the other hand, core AI chatbot service quality and satisfaction significantly influenced chatbot user loyalty. This study contributes to researchers and practitioners by proposing and evaluating a more comprehensive chatbot e-service quality that combines both fundamental (core service and service recovery qualities) and human-like (conversational quality) aspects of e-service. The results are of value in devising future AI chatbot services and related strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hsu, Chin-Lung & Lin, Judy Chuan-Chuan, 2023. "Understanding the user satisfaction and loyalty of customer service chatbots," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:71:y:2023:i:c:s0969698922003046
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Aslam, Usman, 2023. "Understanding the usability of retail fashion brand chatbots: Evidence from customer expectations and experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Asghar, Midhat, 2023. "Cafe Politics: How Food Service Operators Influence University Students’ Satisfaction and Dining Frequency," MPRA Paper 116759, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 16 Mar 2023.
    4. Hu, Qian & Pan, Zhao, 2023. "Can AI benefit individual resilience? The mediation roles of AI routinization and infusion," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Aumaima Wahbi & Karim Khaddouj & Naoufal Lahlimi, 2023. "Study of the relationship between chatbot technology and customer experience and satisfaction [Etude de la relation entre la technologie chatbots et l'expérience et la satisfaction client]," Post-Print hal-04403080, HAL.

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