Consumer engagement with AI-powered voice assistants: A behavioral reasoning perspective

This study draws upon Behavioral Reasoning Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model to investigate consumer engagement with AI-powered voice assistants. The study creates a theoretical model to examine the effects of reasons for and reasons against using voice assistants. This research exemplifies attitudes towards using voice assistants and willingness to provide personal information as key constructs. The current study tests data from 491 voice assistant users via mTurk, and we utilize a multimethod analysis scheme including the partial least squares technique and the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis approach to provide an assessment of the proposed model. Findings indicated that while privacy cynicism has a negative impact upon the attitude towards using voice assistants, the countervailing values of trust, perceived usefulness, and ease of use have off-setting positive impact. The study also highlights the moderating role of habit on the behavioral mechanisms driving consumer engagement via willingness to provide privacy information. This research advances the emerging literature on voice assistants with respect to privacy-related factors driving consumer engagement.