Effect of Gratitude Expression of AI Chatbot on Willingness to Donate

This study aimed to verify the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots’ gratitude expression for a fundraising campaign on recipients’ willingness to donate. The mediating effects of self-efficacy and social worth on the relationship between expressions of gratitude and the willingness to donate were explored. The moderating effect of identity disclosure to enhance the effect of expressing gratitude was also investigated. By conducting a 2 (gratitude expression: absent vs. present) × 3(identity cue: text-only vs. robot vs. human) factorial design experiment with 564 American adults, the AI chatbot’s gratitude expression was found to increase the subject’s willingness to donate. The effect of these expressions of gratitude was mediated by self-efficacy rather than by social worth. However, when the AI chatbot provided a human identity cue, not only was the mediating effect of self-efficacy strengthened but the mediating effect of social worth was also significant.