Study: The AI chatbot of the future is friendly, approachable and likeable

ChatGPT has been making headlines regularly since November 2022. Never before has an AI been able to understand and follow user instructions so precisely. ChatGPT can provide information on almost any topic, summarize books, write programming lines, formulate poems and much more. The tool represents the beginning of a new generation of AIs. It is foreseeable that this technology will be ubiquitous in the coming years.

But which provider will prevail? While OpenAI - the makers of ChatGPT - currently still enjoys a technical lead, the competition is not far behind. Giants like Google have also jumped on the bandwagon. And to win in the market in the long term, as always, not only technology but also emotions are decisive. So the question is, does ChatGPT trigger the right emotions in users? A question that Neuromarketing-Berartung Zutt & Partner got to the bottom of.

ChatGPT: Emotionally a powerful tool, but not a friendly helper

For this purpose, Zutt & Partner's Emocompass was used - a neuromarketing research tool that can break down emotions. On the one hand, it was used to measure the emotional user desire for AI tools and, on the other hand, to determine which emotions ChatGPT triggers in users. The results show: ChatGPT only meets one of two desired emotions - and also triggers an emotion that is not desired at all.

As a novel, promising technology, ChatGPT triggers inspiration and innovation. But ChatGPT does not succeed in meeting the second and actually more important desired emotion. Here, friendliness and closeness would be required above all.

Instead, ChatGPT primarily triggers emotions associated with power, strength, and self-confidence. ChatGPT is therefore perceived on an emotional level as a powerful and innovative tool - while users want a friendly and inspiring helper.

The Gold Standard consists of the emotion dimensions friendliness and inspiration. So customers want an AI chatbot that is friendly, approachable, and personable. But also inspiring, innovative and creative. ChatGPT evokes emotions of inspiration but not friendliness. Instead, the emotion dimension of power dominates with him. So emotions like power, strength and self-confidence.

The path to emotionally perfect AI

Based on these study results, initial recommendations for action can be derived that bring AI tools closer to the user's wishes. To make these recommendations as tangible as possible, Zutt & Partner has collected and structured practical examples.

Naming: What name should the AI have?

To trigger inspiration and friendliness, the AI should have a short, sweet-sounding name with a refreshing touch. "Real" names thereby bring an extra portion of closeness through the familiar sound pattern, while fantasy namings and creative variations of real names provide more inspiration.

A good example is Alexa - the name of Amazon's AI. Other ideas for emotionally apt namings would be Aria, Amaia, Siana, Lian or Milo, for example.

Hard-sounding, technical names like Microsoft's Cortana or ChatGPT should be avoided. The technical impression makes the naming seem futuristic and powerful, while closeness and friendliness come up short.

Appearance: What does AI need to look like?

In addition to a high recognition value, an emotionally coherent AI in terms of appearance should be a mix of soft as well as surprising design elements. This includes, for example, a round design language, friendly facial features, exciting / lively accents or materializations etc.

Moreover, an avatar contributes a lot to making a tool not only more emotional, but also more approachable and likeable (see Wysa Penguin). The designs of Google Assistant and Apple's Siri, for example, go in the right direction emotionally in terms of their formal language, but they do not trigger enough emotion due to their high degree of abstraction.

Communication style: How should the AI perform?

ChatGPT communicates politely, formally, and very controlled, but it is still completely lacking in humanity and freshness. Other AIs like Alexa, Siri, etc. maintain an even cooler and more "technical" style of conversation - no trace of empathy and closeness.

A friendly and relaxed communication style would be perfect. As if you were talking to a good friend. A good example of this is the therapy AI Wysa. This chatbot responds emphatically to users' feelings and has its own personality.

Voice: What must the AI sound like?

Text communication always seems somewhat distant. For an AI to appear truly approachable, it needs voice communication. The current AI tools use well-developed computer voices - which speak fluently, but sometimes seem emotionless. The missing "intermediate sounds", which are strongly represented in natural conversation (e.g. "Um", ...), also contribute to this.

One exception is Google's Call Assistant with its very natural and pleasant voice. In the best case, the AI would have a natural voice that also fits the region or the local dialect of the user. The voice should be fluent, use intermediate sounds and, depending on the context of the conversation, allow the appropriate emotions to resonate in the speech sound. In this way, it could respond to the user's feelings and thus act more like a friendly, empathetic helper.

Future Outlook: From chatbot to personal assistant

The new generation of chatbots is still in the start-up phase. Future developments will take the technology much further, according to Zutt & Partner. It is conceivable that chatbots will soon be intelligent enough to serve as personal assistants. Bill Gates assumes that in a few years everyone will be supported by a personal AI assistant. This assistant will then take over routine tasks in our private and working lives, such as sorting out emails, coordinating appointments or brainstorming initial ideas.

According to Zutt & Partner, it is highly likely that the new generation of AI will be ubiquitous in the future. It remains to be seen who will succeed in triggering the right emotions to profit optimally from it.