Conceptualizing the role of virtual service agents in service failure recovery: Guiding insights

The hospitality industry employs artificial intelligence (AI) to positively influence customer psychological reactions and behavior. Our research addresses the challenges posed by AI service failure and explores the role of virtual service agents (VSAs) during the service failure recovery (SFR) process. In this study, we conducted a scoping review of 87 high-quality literature items published between 2000 and June 2024 to investigate how AI service failures contribute to adverse customer psychological reactions and behavior. This paper conceptualizes VSAs’ anthropomorphic attributes that may play important roles during the SFR process by influencing customer comfort and service failure tolerance. Moreover, we present how the severity of service failure and the competence of VSAs moderate the relationship between VSA anthropomorphic attributes and customer service failure tolerance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed to provide additional insights. • At the service failure stage, AI service failures impact hotel customers’ cognitive reactions and behavior. • At the service recovery stage, the facial and sentimental attributes influence customer cognitive reactions and behavioral response. • During the service recovery stage, service failure tolerance and comfort mitigate negative customer behavioral responses. • Service failure severity and VSA competence act as moderators.