Impact of human and AI-agent services on customer learning, immersion and loyalty: the role of interactivity

What is it about?

This study examines the influence of human-agent service quality (HAS) and AI-agent service quality (AIAS) on customer learning (CLR), customer immersive experience (CIE), and customer loyalty (CLY) within online service interactions. It investigates the moderating role of perceived interactivity (PI) and the mediating effect of CIE in translating customer learning into loyalty. Study 1 used a cross-sectional online survey of 421 Indian online consumers via Clickworkers.com, with participants who had prior interactions with both human and AI service agents. PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 4.0 was employed for hypothesis testing. Study 2 utilized a controlled experimental design (N=221) with low and high interactivity conditions to examine causal effects on customer outcomes, analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS macro. Findings from Study 1 reveal that HAS and AIAS significantly impact CLR, enhancing CIE and leading to improved CLY. AIAS facilitates learning through automation and efficiency, while HAS fosters learning through personalization and empathy. CIE mediates the relationship between CLR and CLY, emphasizing immersive engagement in building loyalty. PI moderates the relationships between HAS, AIAS, and CLR, indicating that higher interactivity enhances learning. Study 2 shows that increasing AI service interactivity positively influences CLR and CIE, though not directly impacting loyalty; instead, learning and immersive experiences mediate this effect on loyalty intentions. Service providers should strategically integrate human and AI-powered interactions, with human agents focusing on emotional engagement and AI services on interactivity and personalization. Hybrid service models are recommended to maximize customer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty in digital service environments. This study bridges the gap between human-agent and AI-agent service research through Service-Dominant Logic (SDL), highlighting complementary roles of AI and human agents and offering empirical validation of AI interactivity effects on customer engagement and loyalty formation.

Featured Image