Beyond Words: Foreign-Language Use Increases the Perceived Social Presence of AI Service Chatbots

Katharina Saile and Verena Hüttl-Maack

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2026, vol. 11, issue 2, 199 - 213

Abstract: Brands are increasingly relying on artificially intelligent agents, such as chatbots, to communicate with their customers. These artificial intelligence (AI) agents are typically anthropomorphized to some degree to simulate human interactions. The present research shows that the way consumers experience interactions with such conversational AI agents is influenced by the language used in the conversation. Across three experimental studies, we find that communication in a learned foreign language (vs. the native language) enhances perceived social presence. This effect is moderated by the chatbot’s degree of anthropomorphism and leads to positive marketing-relevant downstream consequences, such as greater willingness to interact with the agent and higher satisfaction with the experience. We argue that the heightened perception of social presence in a foreign language may stem from language-dependent variations in human memory structures. The findings offer practical implications for marketing and digital service interactions.

Date: 2026
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