Building Trust with AI Chatbots in Tourism: A Review of Functional and Emotional Design Challenges
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: As AI chatbots become increasingly embedded within tourism services, it is critical to understand their influence on customer trust – an emotional and financial cornerstone of tourism-related decision-making. However, deficiencies such as a lack of empathy or responsiveness can result in user dissatisfaction, disengagement and reputational harm. Accordingly, this systematic literature review examines the evolving role of AI chatbots in shaping customer trust by synthesising findings from 27 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2025. The review also highlights key research gaps, particularly in relation to trust-repair mechanisms and the perceptions of non-users. The findings underscore the importance of integrating both technical reliability and emotional intelligence into chatbot design to cultivate sustainable customer relationships in emotionally sensitive service contexts.
Source: AIoT Global Summit
DOI: 10.34074/proc.250109
Authors: Zirou Huang, Jimmy Sun, Bing Dai
Language: English
Topic: AI in Service Interactions
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4416375124