Is being human-like beneficial? The effect of anthropomorphism on chatbot persuasion in e-commerce

Purpose Chatbots are vital for enhancing e-commerce sustainability by providing efficient customer support. Although previous studies have considered both linguistic and visual anthropomorphism as crucial factors in e-commerce chatbot design, their joint effects and their underlying mechanisms have not been thoroughly investigated. Drawing on insights from the literature on anthropomorphism and the elaboration likelihood model, this research attempts to examine the joint effects of the two types of anthropomorphism, the boundary condition, and the subsequent impact on purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach A research model was proposed and empirically tested using two laboratory-controlled experimental studies. Findings Linguistic anthropomorphism plays a dominant role over visual anthropomorphism in influencing social presence and communicative effectiveness. In addition, linguistic anthropomorphism harms persuasion through the mediating role of communicative effectiveness, and the fit between linguistic and visual anthropomorphism amplifies the negative effect on purchase intention. Moreover, shopping motivation serves as a boundary condition for the negative effect of anthropomorphism. Practical implications Chatbot designers should be cautious when using anthropomorphism in e-commerce chatbot design. The use of machine-like languages may be more persuasive than that of human-like languages, especially for utilitarian products. Notably, mismatched anthropomorphic elements may harm user experience. Originality/value This study enriches chatbot literature by examining the role of chatbot anthropomorphism in the e-commerce context. Moreover, this study provides a more comprehensive framework for understanding how chatbots’ linguistic and visual anthropomorphism jointly influence consumer behavior.