The Technostress of ChatGPT Usage: How Do Perceived AI Characteristics Affect User Discontinuous Usage Through AI Anxiety and User Negative Attitudes?

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly integrated into daily life, this study investigates the negative impacts of AI usage and how perceived AI characteristics influence user discontinuance through AI anxiety and negative attitudes. Focusing on ChatGPT users, it adopts the technostress framework to examine relationships between perceived AI characteristics, technostress (AI anxiety), strains (user negative attitudes), and behavioral outcomes (user discontinuous usage). Results show that (1) perceived intelligence and anthropomorphism are antecedents of AI anxiety, (2) AI anxiety influences discontinuance intentions via negative attitudes, and (3) AI anxiety mediates the link between AI characteristics and users’ psychological and behavioral responses. This study contributes to AI usage and technostress research by identifying drivers of discontinuance and deepening understanding of AI anxiety, distrust, and dissatisfaction. Findings provide actionable insights for AI designers to balance functionality with user perceptions and for policymakers to enhance AI literacy, reducing anxiety and promoting healthy AI engagement.