The effect of emojis and AI reliability on team performance and trust in human-AI teams

Abstract The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into human teams necessitates a deeper understanding of how to foster effective collaboration. This study investigates how incorporating emojis, as a representation of emotional intelligence, into AI communication influences human-AI team dynamics. Specifically, the study examined how emojis impact human trust in AI teammates, whether different types of emojis yield varied outcomes, and how emoji use affects the perceived performance of both AI and human teammates. A controlled experiment was conducted with participants who collaborated with a simulated AI teammate on a geographic location identification task. The AI teammate’s reliability and the use of emojis were manipulated across different experimental conditions. Results showed that neither the AI teammate’s reliability nor the use of emojis significantly influenced participants’ explicit trust ratings in the AI teammate. These findings highlight the complex interplay of trust, perception, and emotional cues in HAT collaboration.