Exploring the Effect of Virtual Agent Type on Perceived Hedonic and Utilitarian Beliefs of an End User

Online settings have become more commonplace for interactions. Currently, a common-place interaction is with a chatbot of some kind when traversing the web, however, chatbots offer a limited amount of communication channels for social interactions. These limitations could possibly be addressed by using social robots as alternatives for interacting. The present study examines the effects of a real visual component in an online viewing task on participants’ perceived beliefs (hedonic and utilitarian) of a virtual agent. Perceptual judgments were collected after actively viewing a task with one of the two agents (chatbot or online social robot). The focus of the study was to determine whether social robots offer an increased hedonic experience compared to chatbots. Additionally, utilitarian factors were explored. Results indicated that the online social robot offered an overall better experience being perceived as more hedonic as well as being more perceived as easier to use and adaptable.