Public Perception of AI-generated Chatbot in Public Relations: Trust, Satisfaction, and Commitment

Date of Award

5-5-2024

Degree Name

M.A. in Communication

Department

Department of Communication

Advisor/Chair

Kelly Vibber

Abstract

Drawing upon organization-public-relationship (OPR) theory as a framework, this study examined how the public's perception of AI-driven chatbot characteristics impacts their perceived relationship with the organization. Specifically, this study examined whether the chatbots' social presence, conversational tone, and interaction quality were related to OPRs regarding trust, satisfaction, and commitment. A quantitative survey via Qualtrics was conducted at a medium-sized private university in Southwest Ohio. The study revealed that participants' perceptions of the AI chatbot's social presence and conversation tone had a moderate, significant, and positive correlation with perceived trust, satisfaction, and commitment to the organization. However, the perceived interaction quality of chatbots had a weak but significant positive correlation with participants' perceived trust, satisfaction, and commitment to the organization. The result also indicates that while social presence and conversational tone influence customer perception, the quality of a chatbot's interaction (solving problems and providing individual attention) is a parallel key driver of trust, satisfaction, and commitment. The study discussed the implications of the findings and suggested the potential for future research.

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Chatbot, Organization-public-relationships, Trust, Satisfaction

Rights Statement

Copyright 2024, author

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