AI hinders meaningfulness? Effects of chatbot guidance on service evaluation in product assembly contexts

Purpose Product assembly is not only a functional step in product delivery but also a potentially meaningful hands-on experience for consumers. To reduce the potential difficulties encountered during assembly, some firms are replacing traditional manuals with chatbot guidance. However, the impact of such interventions on consumer responses remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate how chatbot support in product assembly tasks – specifically in static versus video formats – affects perceived meaningfulness and, in turn, evaluations of the brand and service. Design/methodology/approach We conducted two experiments: an online scenario-based experiment using a 3 (manual vs static chatbot vs video chatbot) × 2 (simple vs complex task) between-subjects design and a laboratory experiment in which participants completed actual product assembly tasks. ANOVA and PROCESS-based mediation and moderation analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate a serial mediation effect: chatbot guidance reduces consumers' perceived meaningfulness, which diminishes brand intimacy and, subsequently, service evaluations. The negative effect is strongest for video chatbot guidance. Importantly, these effects are attenuated when product assembly tasks are more complex or when consumers have lower hands-on ability. Originality/value This study advances the understanding of human–chatbot interaction by examining how chatbot support reshapes consumers’ assembly experiences. The findings highlight the importance of perceived meaningfulness and suggest that chatbot use should be tailored for consumers with lower hands-on abilities or for situations involving more complex tasks.