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How Should AI Agents Ask for Donations? Comparison of Emotional and Normative Appeals in AI-Mediated Fundraising

Truvace record
TRV-2026-2581raw data (JSON)
Version
v1Published
First published
Evidence type
Controlled or validated comparison
Sources
1 sourcePeer-reviewed
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AI chatbots are increasingly being used by charities to engage potential donors. However, as people may exhibit algorithm aversion and heightened scrutiny toward AI, it remains unclear whether persuasive strategies established in human fundraising operate similarly when delivered by an AI agent. In a between-subjects experiment (N=206), participants interacted with a charity AI agent that applied either an emotional appeal (messages evoking compassion and empathy) or a normative appeal (messages emphasizing that…

55Gain side

How the two sides scoreClose call

55Problem side

The gain

In an experiment with 206 participants, a charity AI agent's compassion-based messages raised donation intentions by inducing empathy.

The problem

In the same 206-person experiment, the AI agent's "many others donate" messages made the pitch less believable, weakened anticipatory guilt and lowered donation intentions.

A fixed formula sets both scores from the evidence and its sources. Reader votes don’t move them.

What the scores mean

G is the gain side, out of 100. It goes up when the gain is specific, when it measurably helped people and when the sources behind it are strong.

P is the problem side, out of 100. It goes up when the problem is specific, when it measurably hurt people and when the sources behind it are strong.

What this doesn’t fix

The finding measures donation intentions, not actual donations, in a single experiment with 206 participants.

Sources

1 on file
  1. International Journal of Human–Computer Interactiondoi:10.1080/10447318.2026.2719117
    Peer-reviewed2026-08-26

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v1

Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-2581, v1: “How Should AI Agents Ask for Donations? Comparison of Emotional and Normative Appeals in AI-Mediated Fundraising.” Truvace, 2026-11-12. /record/TRV-2026-2581 (accessed on the day you copy it). sha256 ba69d2e35773dd6b…

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