aiWOM: Artificial Intelligence Word-of-Mouth. Conceptualizing Consumer-to-AI Communication

Figures & data

Table 1. Definitions and key differences between forms of WOM.

Definitions		Key elements
WOM	An “informal communications directed at other consumers about the ownership, usage, or characteristics of particular goods and services or their sellers” (Westbrook, 1987, p. 261).	Oral communication among consumers in physical settings.
eWOM	“Any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet.” (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004, p. 39).	Written and oral communication among humans in online settings mediated by devices or digital applications.
sWOM	A “written and broadcast, one-to-many, to an individual’s social network” (Eisingerich et al., 2015, p. 121).	Written communication among consumers within the social media ecosystem.
aiWOM	A “real-time oral conversations between a consumer and a technology equipped with AI and oral communication gadgets that can perform tasks on behalf of the consumer, have an oral exchange, and influence consumers’ decision-making process and emotions”.	Oral communication among consumers and technologies in a parasocial environment with comments arising from AI elaboration.

Figure 1. Graphic representation of WOMs’ forms.

Figure 2. aiWOM Development and its peculiarities.

Table 2. aiWOM: Emerging research questions (RQs).

A: aiWOM and consumers’ decision-making process
RQA1: How does aiWOM influence consumers’ decision-making process and in which phases?
RQA2: What are the reasons that motivate consumers to adopt aiWOM for consumption activities?
RQA3: How does the frequency of aiWOM influence consumers’ decision-making process?
RQA4: How does the contextual (e.g., physical context) where aiWOM happens influence consumers’ decision-making process?
B: aiWOM and consumers’ psychology
RQB1: How does aiWOM activate different consumers’ psychological paradigms?
RQB2: How does aiWOM become more persuasive during consumption activities?
RQB3: Does aiWOM nudge consumers toward more pro-social behaviors, positive habits, and new attitudes?
RQB4: Does aiWOM activate consumers’ empathy toward AI?
RQB5: Does aiWOM bias consumers’ responses?
RQB6: Does the presence of AI decrease the intention to talk regarding specific topics?
C: aiWOM and consumers’ experiences
RQC1: How does aiWOM increase the intention to delegate in favor of AI technologies?
RQC2: How does the lack of visual images during aiWOM influence consumers?
RQC3: How does the adoption of aiWOM vary across different cultural and social contexts?
RQC4: How do power dynamics between consumers and AI technologies influence consumer experience?
RQC5: How does aiWOM curb the intention to embrace AI in consumption activities?
D: aiWOM and the consumer-AI relationship
RQD1: How does physical closeness during aiWOM influence consumers?
RQD2: When is aiWOM recognized as peer vs. non-peer feedback?
RQD3: When does aiWOM threaten consumers’ privacy?
RQD4: How do emotions play into shaping consumers’ responses to aiWOM?

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