My AI is not My (Virtual) Friend

People increasingly encounter AI-powered chatbots in their daily lives which often make use of anthropomorphic cues -potentially with the intention to trick users into trusting the system.This study investigates the impact of anthropomorphic design cues on user perception and behavioral intention in human-chatbot interactions focusing on the social bot My AI within Snapchat.In a between-subjects experimental design (N=323) participants interacted with either an anthropomorphic version of the chatbot, featuring human-like cues such as personalized greetings, use of emoticons, and a human-like appearance, or a less anthropomorphic version minimizing these cues.The findings challenge prior assumptions by revealing that anthropomorphic cues neither influenced the intention to use the chatbot nor the trust in it.However, perceived anthropomorphism was found to enhance trust in the chatbot, which in turn positively influenced use intention.Additionally, users who perceived the chatbot as more human-like were more likely to view it as a friend, a perception that further mediated the effect of anthropomorphism on trust.These results suggest that while anthropomorphic design does not universally increase trust and use intention directly, perceived anthropomorphism and perception as a friend plays an important role in user interactions with AI-based chatbots.Future studies will need to clarify whether the design decision to frame the interaction as dialogue might be sufficient to increase perceived anthropomorphism and its related effects.