By Mariyani Ahmad Husairi and Patricia Rossi 

Faced with abundant choices yet not having enough time or cognitive resources to evaluate them, the purchasing decision-making processes can be arduous. Currently consumers can delegate parts or the entire process to AI. Our recent research examines customers’ willingness to relinquish their purchasing decision autonomy to the technology.

In today’s economy, consumers face information overload. There is an unlimited range of products and services to satisfy their every need, potentially making the purchase decision-making process arduous. On top of that, consumers lead busy lives, leaving them a meagre amount of time and cognitive resources to make simple daily choices such as what to order for dinner. The application of AI on websites and purchasing apps is intended to reduce the amount of effort customers put into achieving purchase decisions. For example, when customers want to relax at home, they can instantly enjoy a movie recommended by AI on their streaming platform without having to search for potential alternatives from abundant choices and finally opt for one. Similarly, AI-enabled shopping apps push their recommendations based on consumers stated preferences, previous patterns of behaviors and what  others, with similar buying habits, consume.  Subsequently, a customer may decide to follow a recommendation by clicking the “purchase” button for a wool sweater labelled as “we think you might like this” without having to spend any time at all on the decision process.  

How AI relinquishes consumer autonomy 

When AI makes product recommendations, it narrows down the choices to a small consideration set, replacing consumers’ role in searching for potential alternatives, evaluating and comparing them. Hence, AI takes over consumers’ choice autonomy in the decision-making process. Consumers may even outsource the final decision step to AI, hence taking away consumers’ decision autonomy. For example, AI-enabled smart refrigerators already have the capability to predict when consumers will run out of a product and to repurchase that product without human involvement.  

While the process of choosing can be painful for consumers, exercising choice and decision autonomy provides psychological values that lead to well-being. For example, unlike AI, which decision-making process is based on past behaviors, upon learning from their mistakes, customers can adjust future purchases to meet their long-term goals.  For instance, after learning that their past book choices do not contribute to their goal for cognitive stimulation, consumers may alter their future purchases to be in alignment with this objective.  In addition, choice and decision autonomy allow customers to shape their self-images, identities and personal values through consumptions such as books, music or even clothing.  Finally, exercising autonomy brings enjoyment, as it allows consumers to take ownership of their decisions and credit themselves for the positive outcomes of their purchases. Thus, while AI makes the purchasing decision-making process swifter, it may take away the sense of pleasure and well-being traditionally enjoyed by customers when shopping. In our recent research, we explored the question of whether consumers are willing to relinquish their autonomy to AI in exchange of convenience it provides. We answered this question by conducting three experimental studies. 

Consumer unwillingness to give up their autonomy even when the decision is complex 

Our first study is an online experiment using the context of an AI-enabled grocery shopping app involving 535 participants. We found that when consumers felt that the app provided them with adequate choice and decision autonomy, they were more likely to use it than when they felt a lack of autonomy. While this finding was not surprising, we wondered if consumers would be more likely to relinquish their autonomy if AI was used to facilitate a complex purchasing decision. Specifically, what if a consumer had to make a choice requiring them to consider a higher number of important attributes? We examined this question in the second study, involving the same context of a grocery shopping app with a total of 563 participants. We assumed that when choices were complex, consumers would be more likely to give up their autonomy in exchange for help from AI. To our surprise, even when faced with such complexities, rendering the process more laborious, consumers preferred to hold on to their choice and decision autonomy. 

The exception: when a product is purchased for an identity-relevant activity 

In the third study we wanted to identify a circumstance in which consumers were willing to trade in their choice and decision for the convenience and efficiency that AI provides. In an experiment involving 600 participants, we discovered that when consumers perceived an activity to be important to their identity, they were more likely to give up their purchasing autonomy for the product required to perform that given activity. In the context of a running app, our study indicates that an avid runner is more inclined to let AI buy their running shoes than a casual runner. This is because the purchasing decision process takes time and effort away from those who would rather indulge in running. In essence, delegating purchasing tasks to AI allows avid runners to spend more time on what really matters to them, which is running. 

How can firm encourage AI adoption?  

First, because customers value their choices, in addition to providing a narrow set of AI-generated recommendations, firms should present customers with the option to view available choices.  For example, firms may allow customers to adjust their social network settings to view the full newsfeed of all accounts they follow, rather than being limited to content selected by the algorithm. Retailers should also make traditional searches seamless and easy for consumers by adding additional filters that are useful to them. Second, as customers only seek the help of AI if they perceive that they retain their decision autonomy, firms are better off offering AI-generated recommendations to help consumers narrow down their options, but they should still leave the final choice to customers. Finally, because consumers are reluctant to relinquish their choice and decision autonomy to AI generally, except when buying products pertinent to their identity relevant activity, firms should explain how its use can save consumers time and effort to focus on doing what they love.

About the Authors

Mariyani Ahmad

Mariyani Ahmad Husairi is an assistant professor of marketing at NEOMA Business School. Her research focuses on innovation, particularly firm capabilities, crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence.  

Patricia RossiPatricia Rossi is an associate professor of marketing at SKEMA Business School. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, artificial intelligence, decision-making and sustainable consumption 

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