Negotiating Dissatisfactory Outcomes: Consumers Believe That AI Is Not a Good Persuasion Target
(A2025-123928)

AUTHORS

Bo Huang, University of Nottingham Ningbo China; Anshu Suri, University College Dublin; Sylvain Sénécal, HEC Montreal

ABSTRACT

While firms are increasingly employing automated decision-making systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to standardize their operations and increase process efficiencies, little is known about how consumers react when they receive a dissatisfactory outcome from these AI decision-makers. In three experiments, the authors found that after receiving an unfavorable outcome from an AI (versus human) decision-maker, consumers are more likely to switch to a human decision-maker for altering the outcome, as they believe that human agents would be more receptive to their persuasion attempts. However, such an effect is attenuated when firms provide consumers with information about similar outcomes from AI and humans, which lowers consumers’ perception of humans being a better target for persuasion.