The Impact of AI Chatbot On Customer Willingness to Pay: An Empirical Investigation in The Hospitality Industry

Abstract

AI Chatbot is increasingly well-defined subject of research in different contexts, but the implementation of AI Chatbot in the service sector is still in the early stages of development. As the impact of AI Chatbot on customer behaviors in this field is unclear, this study proposes a framework examining the impact of AI Chatbot on customer actual behavior. This study uses customer data to test the impact of three chatbot dimensions (Anonymity, urgent response, and convenience) on interaction and customer willingness to pay for hotel services (WTP). Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to examine the causal relationships. The results show that three AI Chatbot dimensions have a significantly positive impact on interaction quality. Urgent response is found to be the highest influence on both interaction and WTP. Meanwhile, anonymity and convenience were revealed to have indirect effects on WTP through interaction. This paper also contributes several implications for firms in hospitality industry in Vietnam.