AI with a Heart: How perceived authenticity and warmth shape trust in healthcare chatbots
Abstract
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform healthcare, AI-driven chatbots are increasingly utilized for patient communication, symptom assessment, and mental health support. However, the success of these chatbots depends on more than just accuracy; their perceived authenticity, warmth, and empathy significantly shape patient trust and engagement. This study examines the interplay between perceived authenticity, perceived warmth, and perceived empathy in influencing patient trust and visit intention. Through an empirical study, we find that perceived authenticity enhances both warmth and empathy, which in turn foster trust and increase visit intention. Additionally, we investigate the moderating role of chatbot type, revealing that while human-like design can enhance warmth perception, it does not necessarily amplify the effects of authenticity. These findings highlight the critical role of emotional intelligence in AI-driven healthcare interactions and suggest that chatbots should prioritize sincerity and socially attuned communication over mere anthropomorphic features. This study contributes to the growing discourse on AI-human trust dynamics and offers actionable insights for healthcare providers, AI developers, and policymakers seeking to integrate patient-centered AI solutions into clinical practice.
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Trust and skepticism toward AI are domain-specific, shaping adoption differently across hospitality, financial services, healthcare, and food and meal recommendations.
“Consistent with this, a growing body of recent work documents that trust and skepticism toward AI are domain-specific, shaping adoption differently across hospitality (Nguyen & Phan, 2026), financial services (Phan et al., 2025), healthcare (Phan & Bui, 2025), and food and meal recommendations (Phan et al., 2025).”
From Marketing to the Machine: Rethinking Global Marketing for the AI Era (2026) · cites this paper as Phan & Bui, 2025
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- Authors
- Phan, T. A., & Bui, V. D.
- Affiliations
- Eastern International University (VN)
- Corresponding author
- Phan, The Anh
- ORCID
- Phan, The Anh
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing Communications
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2025-05-21
- Pages
- 1-21
- ISSN
- 1352-7266 (ISSN-L)
- 1466-4445
- OpenAlex
- W4410566485
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 36 · 2025: 4
- FWCI
- 16.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing Communications (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
- Keywords
- healthcare chatbots, perceived authenticity, perceived warmth, perceived empathy, patient trust, visit intention, chatbot design, emotional intelligence, patient engagement
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