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Casual chatbot replies lift purchase intent for close or premium brands, 4 experiments find

Study title: Artificially sincere? How chatbot language style shapes consumer perceptions across brand contexts

Evidence type
Controlled or validated comparison
Sample
n = 878
Sources
1 sourcePeer-reviewed
Published
2 min read
Truvace record
TRV-2026-2673cite or check it

Study title: Artificially sincere? How chatbot language style shapes consumer perceptions across brand contexts

Four online experiments with 878 participants in total tested how a service chatbot's language style shapes what consumers think of it and the brand behind it. The researchers varied abbreviations, formality and message length, then measured perceived sincerity, effort, engagement, brand attitudes and behavioral intentions.

Read the study abstract

Purpose The present study aims to empirically investigate how the language styles of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, specifically their use of abbreviations, formality and message length, influence consumer perceptions of sincerity, effort and brand-related outcomes in service interactions. Design/methodology/approach Four experiments (n = 878) were conducted to test the effects of language style in various service and brand contexts. The studies manipulated chatbot communication features and measured the…

The gain

In four online experiments with 878 participants, informal chatbot language strengthened brand attitudes and purchase intentions when consumers felt close to the brand (Study 3) and when the brand was positioned as premium (Study 4).

In brief

Abbreviation-heavy messages consistently reduced perceived sincerity and perceived effort of the service agent, especially when the agent was presented as human. Informal and concise chatbot responses raised engagement and perceived sincerity, but only when the style matched the brand context.

The findings point to a practical rule for brand managers and service designers: chatbot tone should follow brand positioning and the strength of the customer-brand relationship, not a single house style. The work is published in the European Journal of Marketing.

Main points

  1. Four experiments with a combined 878 participants manipulated chatbot abbreviations, formality and message length in service and brand scenarios.
  2. Abbreviation-heavy messages consistently lowered perceived sincerity and perceived agent effort.
  3. The sincerity penalty for abbreviations was stronger when the agent was presented as human.
  4. Informal, concise chatbot replies increased engagement and perceived sincerity only when they fit the brand context.
  5. Informality improved brand attitudes and purchase intentions when brand closeness was high (Study 3).
  6. Informality also helped when the brand was positioned as premium (Study 4).

The full story

The research tested language style as a social signal in chatbot service interactions. Across four experiments, participants saw chatbot messages that differed in abbreviation use, formality and length, and then rated sincerity, effort, engagement, brand attitudes and behavioral intentions.

Abbreviations were the clearest negative: they consistently reduced how sincere the agent seemed and how much effort consumers believed it put in, with the effect larger for agents described as human.

Informal and concise replies were not good everywhere. They improved engagement and perceived sincerity only when matched to brand context, and they boosted brand attitudes and purchase intentions where consumers felt close to the brand or the brand was premium. The authors recommend aligning chatbot style with brand positioning and the consumer-brand relationship.

Sources

1 on file
  1. European Journal of Marketingdoi:10.1108/ejm-07-2025-0534
    Peer-reviewed2026-07-14

Talk it over

Four questions to start onWho gets this benefit, and who was left out of the study or story?

Start with a question

Casual chatbot replies lift purchase intent for close or premium brands, 4 experiments findhttps://truvace.com/item/artificially-sincere-how-chatbot-language-style-shapes-consumer-perceptions-acro

  1. Who gets this benefit, and who was left out of the study or story?

    The gain In four online experiments with 878 participants, informal chatbot language strengthened brand attitudes and purchase intentions when consumers felt close to the brand (Study 3) and when the brand was positioned as premium (Study 4).

    Answer in the thread

  2. How do we know? What can this kind of evidence show, and what can’t it?

    The evidence This rests on a controlled comparison with a sample of 878, from European Journal of Marketing.

    Answer in the thread

  3. What does it leave open? What else would you want to know before acting on it?

    The record’s own caveat The experiments used mock interactions in online settings, so the results may not generalize to real-world customer service; the authors call for longitudinal and field-based studies.

    Answer in the thread

  4. Have you seen AI used this way where you study, work or live? Did it go the same way?

    Answer in the thread

The questions are the same on every record. The details under them are taken from this record as written.

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