A Multi-Industry Analysis of the Future Use of AI Chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are set to be the defining technology of the next decade due to their ability to increase human capability at a low cost. However, more research is required to assess individuals' behavioural intentions to use this technology when it becomes publicly available. This study applied an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), with additional predictors of trust and privacy concerns, to assess individuals' behavioural intentions to use AI chatbots across three industries: mental health care, online shopping, and online banking. These services were selected due to the current popularity of regular chatbots in these fields. Participants (N=360, 202 females) aged between 17 and 85 years (M=38.17, SD=17.66) completed a 71-item online, cross-sectional survey. As hypothesised, perceived usefulness and trust were significant positive predictors of behavioural intentions across all three behaviours. However, the influence of the perceived ease of use and privacy concerns on behavioural intentions differed across the three behaviours. These findings highlight that the combination of predictors within the extended TAM have different influences on behavioural intentions to use AI chatbots for mental health care, online shopping, and online banking. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that the influence of the variables in one field cannot be generalised across all uses of AI chatbots.

Automated summary

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are expected to be the defining technology of the next decade due to their ability to enhance human capability at a low cost. This study applied an extended Technology Acceptance Model to assess individuals' behavioral intentions to use AI chatbots in different industries. The results showed that perceived usefulness and trust were significant predictors of behavioral intentions across all behaviors, while perceived ease of use and privacy concerns had different influences on behavioral intentions for different industries.