Estimating the Impact of “Humanizing” Customer Service Chatbots

In this work, we investigate how applying human-like characteristics to customer service chatbots can influence retail outcomes. This is an important managerial question as creating effective chatbot experiences through messaging platforms has proven difficult for organizations. Often, developers apply such giving a human name, adding humor, and so on, without knowing these features end user behavior. Implementing field experiment in collaboration with dual channel clothing retailer based the United States, automate used buy-back process, that individuals engage retailer's autonomous describe clothes they wish sell, obtain cash offer, (if accept) print shipping label finalize transaction. We provide evidence that, setting, anthropomorphism beneficial transaction outcomes, but it also leads significant increases consumers’ sensitivity offer amount. argue latter effect occurs because, becomes more human-like, consumers shift fairness evaluation or negotiating mindset.