Why do people use Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled voice assistants?

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled voice-assistants such as Alexa and Siri are increasingly replacing the search engines since the consumers are actively using them for accomplishing a variety of their day-to-day tasks. Technology providers as well as marketers increasingly focus on leveraging the use of voice assistants to engage their customers and offer them more personalized value propositions. The study examines the different consumption values associated with the use of voice-assistants. Based on a theoretical framework rooted in the “Theory of Consumption Values” (TCV), we undertake a mixed-method research approach that comprises interviews with experts (n = 5) and consumers (n = 30) and a cross-sectional survey with active users of voiceassistants (n = 371). Five consumption values were considered namely social identity, convenience, personification, perceived usefulness and perceived playfulness. In addition to this, two types of usage of voice assistants namely information search and task function were considered. Our findings contextualize and extend the TCV framework using voice-assistants technology and get empirical support showing that the consumption values are interrelated. We find that social identity and personification has a strong positive association with both usefulness and playfulness. Furthermore, usefulness and playfulness shared positive association with information search and task function. In addition to this, trust and frequency of use significantly (positive) moderated the association between usefulness and usage of voice assistants. The technology providers and marketers find the research outcome useful to developing various voice-enabled applications and services to enhance the consumer experience and engagement.