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The Impact of Perceived Tone, Age, and Gender on Voice Assistant Persuasiveness in the Context of Product Recommendations

Sabid Bin Habib Pias, Ran Huang, Donald Williamson, Minjeong Kim, Apu Kapadia

TL;DR

This study investigates how the perceived tone, age, and gender of voice assistants influence persuasiveness and purchase decisions in online shopping. Using a controlled online experiment with synthesized voices, the authors show that positive and neutral tones and voices perceived as middle-aged male or younger female are more persuasive, and that persuasiveness mediates purchase likelihood. The work highlights design opportunities for customizable VA voices to enhance user comfort and engagement, while stressing the need for ethical safeguards to prevent manipulation. The findings offer practical guidance for deploying more engaging VAs in high-stakes contexts and point to future work on cross-cultural validity and gender-inclusive voice options.

Abstract

Voice Assistants (VAs) can assist users in various everyday tasks, but many users are reluctant to rely on VAs for intricate tasks like online shopping. This study aims to examine whether the vocal characteristics of VAs can serve as an effective tool to persuade users and increase user engagement with VAs in online shopping. Prior studies have demonstrated that the perceived tone, age, and gender of a voice influence the perceived persuasiveness of the speaker in interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, persuasion in product communication has been shown to affect purchase decisions in online shopping. We investigate whether variations in a VA voice's perceived tone, age, and gender characteristics can persuade users and ultimately affect their purchase decisions. Our experimental study showed that participants were more persuaded to make purchase decisions by VA voices having positive or neutral tones as well as middle-aged male or younger female voices. Our results suggest that VA designers should offer users the ability to easily customize VA voices with a range of tones, ages, and genders. This customization can enhance user comfort and enjoyment, potentially leading to higher engagement with VAs. Additionally, we discuss the boundaries of ethical persuasion, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding users' interests against unwarranted manipulation.

The Impact of Perceived Tone, Age, and Gender on Voice Assistant Persuasiveness in the Context of Product Recommendations

TL;DR

This study investigates how the perceived tone, age, and gender of voice assistants influence persuasiveness and purchase decisions in online shopping. Using a controlled online experiment with synthesized voices, the authors show that positive and neutral tones and voices perceived as middle-aged male or younger female are more persuasive, and that persuasiveness mediates purchase likelihood. The work highlights design opportunities for customizable VA voices to enhance user comfort and engagement, while stressing the need for ethical safeguards to prevent manipulation. The findings offer practical guidance for deploying more engaging VAs in high-stakes contexts and point to future work on cross-cultural validity and gender-inclusive voice options.

Abstract

Voice Assistants (VAs) can assist users in various everyday tasks, but many users are reluctant to rely on VAs for intricate tasks like online shopping. This study aims to examine whether the vocal characteristics of VAs can serve as an effective tool to persuade users and increase user engagement with VAs in online shopping. Prior studies have demonstrated that the perceived tone, age, and gender of a voice influence the perceived persuasiveness of the speaker in interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, persuasion in product communication has been shown to affect purchase decisions in online shopping. We investigate whether variations in a VA voice's perceived tone, age, and gender characteristics can persuade users and ultimately affect their purchase decisions. Our experimental study showed that participants were more persuaded to make purchase decisions by VA voices having positive or neutral tones as well as middle-aged male or younger female voices. Our results suggest that VA designers should offer users the ability to easily customize VA voices with a range of tones, ages, and genders. This customization can enhance user comfort and enjoyment, potentially leading to higher engagement with VAs. Additionally, we discuss the boundaries of ethical persuasion, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding users' interests against unwarranted manipulation.
Paper Structure (32 sections, 2 figures, 6 tables)

This paper contains 32 sections, 2 figures, 6 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Works
  3. Decision Making for Online Shopping with Voice Assistants
  4. Voice Characteristics and Persuasiveness
  5. Method
  6. Stimuli Generation
  7. Stimuli Validation
  8. User Behavior Study
  9. Stimulus and Procedure.
  10. Participants.
  11. Quantitative Analysis
  12. Qualitative Analysis
  13. Hypotheses
  14. Findings
  15. Effect of Perceived VA tone on VA Voice Persuasiveness and Purchase Decision
  16. ...and 17 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Path model diagram for the mediation of voice persuasiveness in the relationship between purchase decision and the tone, review valence, age, and gender of the VA voice. (* = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001). Baselines for age = younger adult, gender = male
  • Figure 2: Differences in the perceived persuasiveness of voice (estimated marginal means)