Artificial Intelligence: Voice Assistants

Abstract

The increasing amount of data and the need to rapidly retrieve information has prompted individuals to rely on technology. Voice assistants have been developed as an innovative tool that provides a natural interface to retrieving information from the digital world and even instructing simple transactions such as purchasing items off the Web. A voice assistant is a software application driven by AI that operates as a personal information manager, such as Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Now. However, a deeper understanding of users' perceptions regarding voice assistants is necessary to increase user engagement and ensure users continue using them.

This need motivates the exploratory study presented in this thesis. It aims to investigate the relationship between individuals and their home's voice assistants to identify the main characteristics that facilitate establishing a significant and engaging connection between them, leading to their continuous use of the voice assistant. This research thus aims to enhance the post-adoption stage by providing a valuable contribution to improving the relationship between users and their home voice assistants.

The main findings of this study indicate that both perceived anthropomorphism and perceived intelligence significantly impact the continuous intention to use and engage with the voice assistant. Nevertheless, the importance of these relationships comes from specific crucial mediators such as engagement, rapport, engagement motivations, perceived value and satisfaction. These factors significantly influence the user's intention to use and engage with voice assistant technology.