Using Chatbots and Digital Humans to Collect Online Reviews

Abstract

AI-controlled digital humans that look and sound highly human-realistic are beginning to appear in place of text-based chatbots for a variety of routine customer service tasks. We used an online experiment to examine how people respond to digital humans and chatbots when providing online reviews. The results show that participants perceived the digital human interface to be more effective, efficient, and satisfying. Participants found the digital human to be more human-like, which elicited a stronger emotional response and led to higher satisfaction. Participants used more casual and friendly language when interacting with the digital human and provided longer feedback than with the chatbot. Overall, people preferred the digital human interface over the chatbot. These findings suggest that using highly realistic digital humans in customer service could be a beneficial and worthwhile option to consider.