Exploring the frontier of anthropomorphism in AI agents: Trends and way forward

By deploying human‐like qualities to non‐human entities, anthropomorphism offers users an interactive, cognitive, affective, and social experience. Emerging applications of conversational AI with a blend of anthropomorphism are changing the way businesses interact with customers. To take the field f...

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Published inBusiness and society review (1974) Vol. 130; no. 1; pp. 42 - 80
Main Authors Chaturvedi, Rijul, Verma, Sanjeev, Srivastava, Vartika, Khot, Shailesh Sampat
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2025
Subjects
AI social companions
Anthropomorphism
Artificial intelligence
chatbot
Consumers
Conversation
conversational agent
customer experience
human likeness
Literature reviews
Marketing
personalization
personification
Social acceptance
Systematic review
Trends
uncanny valley
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0045-3609
1467-8594
DOI10.1111/basr.70002

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Summary:By deploying human‐like qualities to non‐human entities, anthropomorphism offers users an interactive, cognitive, affective, and social experience. Emerging applications of conversational AI with a blend of anthropomorphism are changing the way businesses interact with customers. To take the field forward, this paper emphasizes the importance of anthropomorphism in AI agents and advocates for the need to systematize, integrate, and categorize existing efforts through a systematic literature review. The authors employ the SPAR‐4‐SLR protocol, which enables the investigation of a vast array of peer‐reviewed journal articles. Our study focuses on articles published over 23 years, from 2000 to 2023, ensuring a comprehensive and up‐to‐date understanding of the subject matter. By meticulously analyzing 302 diverse documents, this study unveils the rapid emergence of anthropomorphism in AI. The authors additionally identify six pivotal knowledge clusters that shed light on the phenomenon: human interaction with anthropomorphic AI agents, technology acceptance toward anthropomorphic AI, anthropomorphism in customer service, anthropomorphism in AI‐social companions, applications of anthropomorphism, and anthropomorphic AI for interactive marketing. The current review stimulates academicians and scholars to explore uncharted territories and develop novel theoretical frameworks encompassing anthropomorphism in marketing by posing intriguing and thought‐provoking questions.
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ISSN:0045-3609
1467-8594
DOI:10.1111/basr.70002