The AI humanness: how perceived personality builds trust and continuous usage intention

Purpose The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and voice assistants provides a platform for AI to enter consumers’ everyday lives. As these voice assistants become ubiquitous, their widespread adoption underscores the need to understand how to create voice assistants that can naturally interact with and support users. Grounded in the stereotype content model from social psychology, this study aims to investigate the influence of perceived humanness and personality on building trust and continuous usage intentions in voice assistants. Specifically, a fresh perspective examining the determining factors that shape personality trait perceptions of competence and warmth in voice assistants is proposed. Design/methodology/approach An online survey of 457 participants and structural equation modeling is conducted to validate the research model. Findings Anthropomorphism, social presence and interactivity drive perceived warmth, whereas performance and effort expectations drive perceived competence. Perceived competence and perceived warmth together positively affect users’ trust in voice assistants, leading to a higher likelihood of continuous usage intentions. Originality/value This research provides profound theoretical contributions to the emerging field of human-AI interaction and offer practical implications for marketers aiming to leverage voice assistant personalities to build trusted and long-lasting interactions.