Anthropomorphism in AI-enabled technology: A literature review
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Existing review articles only focus broadly on anthropomorphic AI technologies or robotics without a specific emphasis on chatbots.
“However, existing review articles only focus broadly on anthropomorphic AI technologies or robotics (e.g., Blut et al. 2021; Li and Suh 2022), without a specific emphasis on chatbots.”
From Consumer Response to Anthropomorphism of Text‐Based <scp>AI</scp> Chatbots: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions (2025) · cites this paper as Li and Suh 2022
Cites
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) · Qualitative Research in Psychology · doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa · Cited by 194,414 · see citing works
On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism
Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.114.4.864 · Cited by 4,069 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For example, anthropomorphism can be determined on the basis of three psychological variables: elicited agent knowledge, effectance motivation, and sociality motivation (Epley et al., 2007).”
BackgroundMachines and Mindlessness: Social Responses to Computers
Nass, C., & Moon, Y. (2000) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00153 · Cited by 4,022 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Social response theory, as defined by Reeves and Nass (1996) and other researchers (Moon, 2000; Nass & Moon, 2000), was the most commonly used theoretical approach for examining the effect of anthropomorphism in eliciting individuals’ social responses to AIET.”
MethodHaenlein, M., & Kaplan, A. (2019) · California Management Review · doi:10.1177/0008125619864925 · Cited by 2,655 · see citing works
Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews
Paré, G., Trudel, M.-C., Jaana, M., & Kitsiou, S. (2015) · Information & Management · doi:10.1016/j.im.2014.08.008 · Cited by 1,987 · see citing works
AI-based chatbots in customer service and their effects on user compliance
Adam, M., Wessel, M., & Benlian, A. (2021) · Electronic Markets · doi:10.1007/s12525-020-00414-7 · Cited by 1,195 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Only three studies explored the role of anthropomorphism in behavior, specifically its positive role in individuals’ active responses to AIET’s requests (Adam et al., 2021) and AIET continued usage behavior (Moriuchi, 2021; Pillai & Sivathanu, 2020).”
BackgroundGo, E., & Sundar, S. S. (2019) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.01.020 · Cited by 1,089 · see citing works
Artificial Intelligence in Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review
Toorajipour, R., Sohrabpour, V., Nazarpour, A., Oghazi, P., & Fischl, M. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.009 · Cited by 1,020 · cited 1× · see citing works
“AI has recently become prevalent in both academia and industries (Toorajipour et al., 2021) and is considered as the core technology and way of the future in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Kim, Cho, et al., 2019a; Kumar et al., 2021; Toorajipour et al., 2021).”
BackgroundDeveloping and validating a service robot integration willingness scale
Lu, L., Cai, R., & Gursoy, D. (2019) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.01.005 · Cited by 1,013 · see citing works
Artificial Intelligence trends in education: a narrative overview
Chassignol, M., Khoroshavin, A., Klimova, A., & Bilyatdinova, A. (2018) · Procedia Computer Science · doi:10.1016/j.procs.2018.08.233 · Cited by 956 · see citing works
Intimate Exchanges: Using Computers to Elicit Self-Disclosure from Consumers
Moon, Y. (2000) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209566 · Cited by 842 · see citing works
My Chatbot Companion - a Study of Human-Chatbot Relationships
Skjuve, M., Følstad, A., Fostervold, K. I., & Brandtzaeg, P. B. (2021) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102601 · Cited by 797 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Additionally, with the recent advancements in AI capabilities, several AIET, such as chatbots (Skjuve et al., 2021) and voice assistants (Ki et al., 2020), are similar to humans due to their emotional responses to individuals, who in turn are affected by the AIET’s moods and emotions (Poushneh,…”
BackgroundBorges, A. F. S., Laurindo, F. J. B., Spínola, M. M., Gonçalves, R. F., & Mattos, C. A. (2021) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102225 · Cited by 760 · see citing works
Customer service chatbots: Anthropomorphism and adoption
Sheehan, B., Jin, H. S., & Gottlieb, U. (2020) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.030 · Cited by 667 · see citing works
Pradhan, A., Mehta, K., & Findlater, L. (2018) · Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3173574.3174033 · Cited by 448 · cited 1× · see citing works
“AIET has not only changed the way people communicate, think, and learn (Pradhan et al., 2018; Son & Oh, 2018) but has also influenced the way people purchase products and interact with firms (McLean & Osei-Frimpong, 2019), shaping innovation across several industries (Juniper, 2021).”
BackgroundPredicting the intentions to use chatbots for travel and tourism
Melián-González, S., Gutiérrez-Taño, D., & Bulchand-Gidumal, J. (2021) · Current Issues in Tourism · doi:10.1080/13683500.2019.1706457 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
The impact of chatbot conversational skill on engagement and perceived humanness
Schuetzler, R. M., Grimes, G. M., & Scott Giboney, J. (2020) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.2020.1790204 · Cited by 357 · see citing works
Yen, C., & Chiang, M.-C. (2021) · Behaviour & Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2020.1743362 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
The effect of social presence and chatbot errors on trust
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Zhou, T., & Li, S. (2026) · Journal of Librarianship and Information Science · doi:10.1177/09610006241244800 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Anthropomorphism in artificial intelligence: a game-changer for brand marketing
Gomes, S., Lopes, J. M., & Nogueira, E. (2025) · Future Business Journal · doi:10.1186/s43093-025-00423-y · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Greilich, A., Bremser, K., & Wüst, K. (2025) · International Journal of Consumer Studies · doi:10.1111/ijcs.70108 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Emotional Coregulation in Close Relationships with AI Agents: A Survey of ChatGPT and Replika Users
Pruss, E., Alimardani, M., Struijs, S., & Koole, S. L. (2025) · Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction · doi:10.1145/3765766.3765801 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Li, M., & Suh, A.
- Affiliations
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Mengjun
- Venue
- Electronic Markets
- Published
- 2022-09-29
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 2245-2275
- ISSN
- 1019-6781 (ISSN-L)
- 1422-8890
- OpenAlex
- W4297983522
- Cited by
- 181
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 76 · 2025: 61 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 8.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Electronic Markets (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Keywords
- anthropomorphism, conceptual framework, nomological network, research gaps
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