Enhancing AI service adoption through trust in companies
By understanding and addressing consumer concerns related to AI autonomy, companies can more effectively integrate AI into their service offerings, ensuring both consumer satisfaction and commercial success, writes the Danish IIC team.
In an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly pervades consumer services, our study in Frank, Jacobsen, Søndergaard and Otterbring (2023), reveals a crucial link between consumer trust in companies and the adoption of AI services, particularly under varying degrees of AI autonomy.
Key Findings
We find a positive correlation between consumer trust in a company and their likelihood to adopt AI services from that company.
The level of AI autonomy moderates this relationship. Higher autonomy in AI services tends to weaken the trust-adoption linkage, suggesting that as AI assumes more control over decision-making, consumer hesitance increases. These trends persist across industries, underscoring the universality of trust dynamics in AI adoption.
Managerial learnings Leveraging Existing Trust: Companies should leverage existing consumer trust to facilitate the introduction of AI services. Established relationships can be pivotal in encouraging the initial acceptance of AI-driven offerings.
Navigating AI Autonomy: Given the nuanced consumer response to AI autonomy, companies need to strategically manage the deployment of highly autonomous services. Promoting transparency and educating consumers about AI functionalities and safeguards can mitigate apprehension and enhance trust.
Adaptive Marketing Strategies: Marketing efforts should be tailored to address the specific concerns associated with high autonomy AI services. Highlighting human oversight, the controllability of AI, and the alignment of AI operations with consumer interests could reassure consumers and foster acceptance.
Regulatory and Ethical Considerations: Companies must also consider regulatory and ethical dimensions when advancing AI services. Ensuring compliance with evolving standards and ethical norms will not only support consumer trust but also serve as a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
The interplay between consumer trust and AI autonomy is critical in shaping the adoption of AI services. As companies innovate with AI, maintaining and building trust is paramount. By understanding and addressing consumer concerns related to AI autonomy, companies can more effectively integrate AI into their service offerings, ensuring both consumer satisfaction and commercial success.
The Innovation Index Coalition is a research partnership on customer-driven innovations among 10 leading business schools, worldwide.
Reference: Frank, D. A., Jacobsen, L. F., Søndergaard, H. A., & Otterbring, T. (2023). In companies we trust: consumer adoption of artificial intelligence services and the role of trust in companies and AI autonomy. Information Technology & People, 36(8), 155-173.
The Danish Innovation Index (DII) team: Darius-Aurel Frank, Lina Fogt Jacobsen and Helle Alsted Søndergaard. The newsletter was developed with the aid of ChatGPT4.