Travelers who use AI-powered chatbots on hotel booking platforms often feel uneasy. That discomfort can cause them to disengage or delay booking decisions, according to new research from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The study, published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, found consumers react most negatively to hospitality chatbots when the technology appears inaccurate or unreliable, deceptive or intrusive.
Researchers also identified a simple way companies can improve customer trust: clear AI disclosure and transparency.
"Chatbots are rapidly becoming a critical element of hospitality service," said Babak Taheri, Ph.D., lead researcher and professor in the Arch H. Aplin III '80 Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism. "But when chatbots try to sound human and fall short by giving inaccurate prices, dodging questions or behaving inconsistently, users don't just get annoyed—they get creeped out, and they leave."
The study's authors determined "creepiness" by examining how outdated, inappropriate, incomplete or inadequate information affects conversational accuracy and triggers unsettling feelings in users while interacting with hospitality chatbots.
