Useful chatbot experience provides technological satisfaction: An emerging market perspective

Background: Chatbots have revolutionised marketing and specifically customer services by delivering 24/7 customer care. This technology saves resources and time, whilst enhancing customer experience that has become a critical differentiating factor in an increasing competitive and hyperconnected landscape. Objectives: This research examined how perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived playfulness (PP) and perceived usefulness (PU) of chatbots influence customer experience and how these experiences influence users' satisfaction in an emerging market context. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 333 South African millennials and subjected to exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. Results: The results indicate that all the hypotheses suggested have been positive and significant. Whilst experience significantly predicted satisfaction, it is worth noting that PU was the strongest predictor of experience. Conclusion: Marketers should devote time, money and recourses in developing and incorporating self-service technologies, such as chatbots, that are useful for their marketing strategies that will enhance customer experience.