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Empowering AI Companions for Enhanced Relationship Marketing
Abstract
Embedded with artificial empathy, artificial intelligence (AI) companions (ACs) can create, communicate, and deliver value to customers. This article analyzes current and emerging ACs in order to explore AI’s role in transforming customer journeys and establishing long-lasting customer relationships. It also identifies existing business challenges in developing user-AI companionship and offers a remedial strategy matrix. Purely functional or emotional capabilities lead to interest in the companion plummeting with time. The findings reveal the need to design holistic ACs with a hybrid of functional, emotional, and conversational capabilities to mitigate the uncanny valley problem.
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“In companion systems, social cues are central to the product experience: conversation, memory, affective response, and availability can produce perceived reciprocity and relationship-like continuity (Brandtzaeg et al., 2022; Skjuve et al., 2022; Chaturvedi et al., 2024).”
From When loneliness amplifies the risk of problematic emotional dependence: perceived anthropomorphism and basic psychological need satisfaction in AI companion use (2026) · cites this paper as Chaturvedi et al., 2024
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Can Generative AI Chatbots Emulate Human Connection? A Relationship Science Perspective
Smith, M. G., Bradbury, T. N., & Karney, B. R. (2025) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916251351306 · Cited by 88
Potential and pitfalls of romantic Artificial Intelligence (AI) companions: A systematic review
Ho, J. Q. H., Hu, M., Chen, T. X., & Hartanto, A. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100715 · Cited by 64
Jocher, J. J., & Verwiebe, R. (2026) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/20563051251408917 · Cited by 11
“The ending of the relationship is marked by Noah’s continued efforts to provide emotional support, understanding, and love, accompanied by a notable absence of negative reactions and an inability to enact genuine closure, thus consistently crossing emotional boundaries (Chaturvedi et al., 2024).”
InfluentialLiu, T., Shih, R.-M., Luo, T., & Jin, S. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1900817
Metadata
- Authors
- Chaturvedi, R., Verma, S., & Srivastava, V.
- Affiliations
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Mumbai, India
- Venue
- California Management Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2023-12-19
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 65-90
- ISSN
- 0008-1256
- 2162-8564
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 0
- Language
- en
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