Ask Siri or Sara? Understanding consumers’ preferences for interacting with machines versus humans

Kevin Jiang and Ann E. Schlosser

Chapter 9 in Handbook of Social Psychology and Consumer Behavior, 2026, pp 115-129 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Human–machine interactions have become ubiquitous in today's marketplace, be that in a sales context (e.g., self-service kiosks) or supporting one's daily life (e.g., “smart” appliances). The overarching objective of this chapter is to form a foundation for understanding people's preferences for human versus machine interactions within social interaction contexts, thereby providing a holistic framework for academics and practitioners alike to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each in a world where machines are becoming increasingly more human-like. This chapter first identifies when and why human interaction is favored according to algorithm aversion literature. Next, we look at the effect of imbuing machines with human-like features on preference for machine versus human interactions. We then review the literature on computers as social actors to see what characteristics of machine interaction make it more attractive than human interaction.

Keywords: Algorithms; Artificial intelligence; Automation; Computers as social actors theory; Human–computer interaction; Human–machine interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035327591
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