Chatbots, conversational interfaces, and the stereotype content model

Abstract

Chatbots are becoming increasingly common in web-based business-to-consumer (B2C) communication. However, this technology can have high failure rates when it comes to correctly processing consumer inquiries, as human interactions and conversational dialogues are complex and highly context dependent. Besides improving the technology behind the chatbots, companies may be able to enhance a client's chatbot experience by using insights from the stereotype content model (SCM). Hence, this paper seeks to find out whether the model can be applied to the domain of chatbots and whether it holds true in this context as well. An online survey was conducted, and the results showed that people perceived the chatbots according to the model. Therefore, companies are advised to use the “loveable star” stereotype in their chatbot communication. Trust did not score significantly higher for this stereotype than for the other SCM stereotypes. This contradicts existing theory and is therefore an invitation for further research.