Uncertainty of Artificial Intelligence Assistant: The Effect of Assistant Type on Variety Seeking

In service marketing, AI assistants and self-service technology have become popular. As a result, it is critical to enrich the understanding of whether consumers react differently in the artificial intelligence (AI) service context in comparison with the human service context. This study examines the effect of assistant type (AI vs. human) on consumers’ decision-making. Through three experiments, this research finds that variety seeking will be higher when consumers are making decision in AI (vs. human) service environment. Furthermore, we tested uncertainty as the underlying mechanism. Moreover, we demonstrated that this pattern is moderated by situational involvement. Specifically, in consumption contexts of high involvement, the consumers are less likely to seek variety, and in consumption contexts of low involvement, they prefer more variety (study 3). This research offers service providers new insights by revealing how, why, and when the interaction of AI technology influences consumers’ decision-making in service marketing.