Anthropomorphic virtual assistants and the reactions of Internet users: An experiment on the assistant’s voice

Emna Chérif and Jean-François Lemoine (jflemoine30@hotmail.com)
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Emna Chérif: IAE - UCA - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Clermont-Auvergne - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne, CleRMa - Clermont Recherche Management - ESC Clermont-Ferrand - École Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) - Clermont-Ferrand - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

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Abstract: Virtual assistants are increasingly common on commercial websites. In view of the benefits they offer to businesses for improving navigation and interaction with the consumers, researchers and practitioners agree on the value of providing them with anthropomorphic characteristics. This study focuses on the effect of the voice of the virtual assistant. Although there are some studies of human–computer interaction in this field, there is no work that addresses the topic from a marketing perspective and compares the effect of a human voice versus a synthetic voice. Our findings show that consumers who interact with a virtual assistant with a human voice have a stronger impression of social presence than those interacting with a virtual assistant with a synthetic voice. The human voice also builds trust in the virtual assistant and generates stronger behavioural intentions.

Date: 2019-03
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published in Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition), 2019, 34 (1), pp.28-47. ⟨10.1177/2051570719829432⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03806669

DOI: 10.1177/2051570719829432

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