Understanding Chatbot End-Users to Improve Their Design: Antecedents of Trust, Adoption Motivations, and Expectations

The exploration of users’ desires and expectations from chatbots, particularly the motivations behind their adoption, remains a subject of limited understanding. Both in theory and practice, the lack of knowledge in these areas has been emphasized. While numerous chatbots have proven unsuccessful in practice, researchers have recognized the necessity for further investigation. This research aims to contribute to the existing literature on conversational AI users’ expectations and adoption motivation and expand it, with a specific focus on chatbots. By conducting semi-structured interviews with 25 individuals who are current or potential chatbot users, this research examines what these expectations and motivations are and possible antecedents. The results show that: (1) antecedents of trust may affect adoption motivations and expectations on ethics; (2) the main adoption motivation of chatbots seems to be convenience; (3) expectations seemed to be mainly: efficiency, user-friendliness, seamlessness, and congruence with the brand’s image.