Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistant in Online Shopping: A Randomized Field Experiment on a Livestream Selling Platform

Livestream selling is an innovative form of online shopping that supports real-time interactions between streamers and consumers. However, a key challenge remains: Streamers have limited capacity to answer individual inquiries, whereas shoppers expect fast, personalized responses. This study investigates whether an AI-powered streaming assistant can address this tension by providing interactive, chat-based support to help consumers access and process information. Through a large-scale randomized field experiment on a leading livestream selling platform, we find that the AI assistant increases sales by 3.00% and reduces product return rates by 12.55%. Our analysis suggests that the AI assistant helps consumers feel more informed and confident in their purchases, thereby reducing uncertainty. At the same time, the AI assistant can occasionally disrupt the consumers’ livestream experience. Overall, the benefits of uncertainty reduction outweigh the negative influence of interruptions. For platform managers and policymakers, these findings evidence the potential of AI technology to enhance online commerce. The AI assistant is particularly effective for high-uncertainty products and for streamers with large audiences, offering implications for strategic deployment. Our research provides actionable insights for integrating AI into livestream selling and other digital commerce scenarios where real-time, AI-powered support can facilitate both consumer satisfaction and business growth.