Robots with hearts: How in-store AI’s task types impact brand attitude and ethicality

Recent advancements in robotics and conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) have expanded their capability to handle complex customer interactions. As businesses integrate robots for consumer encounters, they must decide how to allocate tasks between in-store AI and human employees. While previous research has examined consumer responses to AI, limited attention has been given to how different task distributions influence consumer attitudes. Through four experimental studies, we demonstrate that assigning empathetic (vs. mechanical) tasks to in-store AI while relegating mechanical (vs. empathetic) tasks to human service employees leads to diminished brand attitudes and negative perceptions of brand ethicality. Furthermore, the impact of AI task type on brand attitude is amplified for small brands, indicating a moderating role of brand size. Our findings highlight an intricate ethical dilemma: despite AI’s growing capabilities to automate socioemotional tasks, this can be perceived as ethically problematic compared to automating chores that frees human labor.