The rise of conversational generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini is revolutionizing online interactions. Previous research has identified five categories of uses and gratifications (U&G) for users engaging with these chatbots: information seeking, task efficiency, social interaction, entertainment, and personalization. Despite the wide range of use cases, most chatbots provide one-size-fits-all text-based interactions, neglecting user preferences. Recent advancements are progressively introducing interactive features that empower users to control their interactions, such as choosing a preferred conversational style. However, despite these improvements in the industry, the interactivity in gen AI chatbots remains underexplored. This thesis serves as a user-centric foundational study of user engagement with gen AI chatbots by understanding users’ context of use across the five U&G dimensions, analyzing the limitations of text-based interactions, and proposing practical suggestions for desired interactive features.

Date: 2024-05-30 Course: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Jonathan Granlund & David Lundström Title: Unveiling the Impact of AI-Powered Chatbots on Customer Acceptance in Sweden Supervisor:Emre Yildiz Keywords: AI-Chatbots. Technology Acceptance Model. Artificial Intelligence in Sweden. Artificial Intelligence in Customer Relations Research question: What are the effects of AI-based chatbots on customer acceptance in Sweden, including usefulness, ease of use, and trust? Purpose: This study aims to ascertain the ways in which perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, information, innovativeness, and personalization affect customers' acceptance of AI chatbots in Sweden. Method: To get information on participants' opinions and future intentions about AI-powered chatbots, 150 people were asked to complete a survey to which 114 responded. To verify the proposed connections between the identified parameters and customer acceptance, the data was examined. Conclusion: The results validate that the behavioral intention to use AI-based chatbots is positively influenced by perceived usefulness, innovativeness, and personalization. Meanwhile perceived ease of use, trust and information were proved to be non-significant. These findings suggest that increasing chatbots' perceived usefulness, innovativeness and customization can encourage more people to use them. The factors influencing the acceptance of AI chatbots are empirically demonstrated in this study, which can help organizations and developers improve customer acceptance and engagement in the Swedish market. The study also emphasizes how crucial it is to use efficient marketing techniques and unambiguous communication to educate consumers about the features and advantages of AI chatbots, which will eventually lead to increased acceptance rates in customer applications.

Background  In the realm of contemporary marketing the implementation of AI Chatbots has emerged as a pivotal subject shaping brand perception and satisfaction in micro-businesses. As businesses increasingly integrate artificial intelligence into their customer service operations, understanding the implications of AI chatbot implementation on brand perception and satisfaction in micro-businesses becomes paramount. Purpose  The purpose of this paper is to gain a further understanding of how AI Chatbots affects brand perception and satisfaction in micro-businesses. The answer to this research question will not only contribute to resolving the identified gap but also offer actionable insights and recommendations for micro-business owners and managers. Method  A qualitative research approach has been selected. The approach entails employing AI Chatbots in three different micro-businesses and conducting interviews with three potential clients of each micro-business. Conclusion  The study demonstrates that AI Chatbots significantly influence brand perception and brand satisfaction in micro-businesses, enhancing the brand image by presenting a modern and friendly persona. However, their impact on brand satisfaction varies across different types of businesses; low-effort businesses see noticeable improvements while high-effort ones, like plastic surgery services, do not experience substantial gains due to already high expectations.

While the education sector keeps embracing and propagating AI-chatbot integration and usage in their pedagogical practices. This study aimed at investigating the impact of AI-chatbots on the knowledge construction process and critical reasoning of university students, using a mixed method approach to sample the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) students’ performances and teachers’ observation. The purpose is to Investigate the extent of the impacts of AI-chatbots usage on the knowledge construction and critical reasoning abilities and to provide some proven approaches to engaging educational AI-chatbot in a manner that does not hamper the natural knowledge construction process according to constructivism theoretical paradigm. Three research questions were poised to harvest the teachers’ observations, which were matched against the principles and assumptions of constructivism learning theory and the result showed that AI-chatbot usage has some positive impact on the students’ knowledge construction and critical reasoning abilities which include learning efficiency enhancement, gendering plethora of perspectives and furnishing the students cognitively. Paradoxically, it also makes the students boycott knowledge construction process, leading to a dearth of experience, irrationality, passive learning, groupthink, academic dishonesty, and a diminished propensity for critical thinking. Recommendations were drawn from the success stories of the teachers which are to orient the students properly on the ethical usage of AI-chatbots, while integrating critical thinking education and praxis approaches in their pedagogical practice.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur användningen av AI-chatbotar hos Amazon påverkar kundnöjdheten. Metodvalet för denna studie är kvantitativ och baseras på data insamlad genom en enkätundersökning. Enkäten är utformad för att kvantifiera och analysera respondenternas åsikter, beteenden och demografiska variabler. Data analyseras med hjälp av SEM och AMOS. Studien har identifierat signifikanta samband mellan förtroende och kundnöjdhet samt uppfattad enkelhet och kundnöjdhet när det gäller Amazons AI-chatbot. Sambandet är positivt och ökad förtroende samt uppfattad enkelhet leder till ökad kundnöjdhet. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how the use of AI chatbots at Amazon affects customer satisfaction. The method chosen for this study is quantitative and is based on data collected through a survey. The survey is designed to quantify and analyze respondents' opinions, behaviors, and demographic variables. The data is analyzed using SEM and AMOS. The study has identified significant relationships between trust and customer satisfaction, as well as perceived simplicity and customer satisfaction regarding Amazon´s AI chatbot. The relationship is positive and increased trust and perceived ease of use leads to increased customer satisfaction.