THE ROLE OF EMPATHY AND PERCEIVED USEFULNESS IN SHAPING EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND DIGITAL TRUST IN CHATBOT CUSTOMER SERVICE WITHIN E- COMMERCE

Alaa EL Sayed Saleh, Khaled ElSakaty

Abstract


Artificial intelligence in chatbots is growing in use as an alternative to human-customer services, specifically in e-commerce. This paper explores how two key attributes of chatbots, empathy and perceived usefulness, enhance the overall customer experience by fostering trust and emotional engagement. The paper is based on previous theoretical foundations. A pilot study was conducted with 50 participants who had experienced chatbots in e-commerce before. Responses were gathered through an online survey using a Google Form, which was spread via social media platforms, to test the reliability and validity. A multiple regression-based structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships. The results indicate that perceived usefulness significantly enhances digital trust, while its effect on emotional engagement is positive but marginal. Empathy did not significantly influence either outcome. These findings suggest that the functional benefits of chatbots may be more influential than emotional cues in shaping customer perceptions in e-commerce. The paper provides some suggestions for businesses, by which they should design a chatbot with human-like characteristics and gain an advantage from using a system, especially in complex inquiries, to enhance empathy and perceive usefulness. Consequently, consumers' digital trust and emotional engagement towards systems will increase, addressing positive perception in the E-commerce context. This paper extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Social Response theory to chatbot communication and support dimensions into how psychological barriers, such as digital trust and emotional engagement, can enhance overall customer perception. Also, it offers a theoretically grounded and empirically tested measurement foundation for future research. 

Keywords


Chatbot Customer Services, Empathy, Perceived Usefulness, Digital Trust, Emotional Engagement, and E-Commerce.

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References


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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21622/MARLOG.2026.15.1.75

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