Chatbot Acceptance: A Latent Profile Analysis on Individuals' Trust in Conversational Agents

According to industry reports, the lack of trust in non-human interaction prevents widespread Chatbot acceptance. Since the willingness and the ability to trust varies between individuals, this study examines to what extent the trust in Chatbots varies accordingly to different personality profiles. Drawing on the HEXACO dimensions of personality, we apply a latent profile analysis and identify three distinct personality profiles, which significantly vary in their trust in Chatbots. A high level of trust in Chatbots, e.g. Alexa, is mainly affected by the two personality dimensions Extraversion and Agreeableness and only slightly by Honesty-Humility. To prevent commercial underperformance and the shutdown of their Chatbot, providers should make sure that users trust in their Chatbot. This can be accomplished, if the Chatbot treats each user based on his or her membership in one of the three profiles identified in this study.