Emojifying chatbot interactions: An exploration of emoji utilization in human-chatbot communications

The prevalence of chatbots in human–computer communication has significantly increased. Emojis, as a form of emotional disclosure, have gained significant attention for their potential to boost chatbot service satisfaction. However, how and when emoji usage can increase satisfaction toward chatbots is not fully examined. This paper aims to fill this gap and contribute to the rapidly evolving field of human-chatbot communication research. Through three experiments, this paper investigates and explores the role of emojis in enhancing chatbot interactions. The results reveal that emojis heighten chatbot's perceived warmth but do not necessarily augment their competence. This warmth promoting effect leads to boosted service satisfaction and is more apparent when chatbots serve hedonic purposes and are pre-programmed rather than highly autonomous. However, the warmth upshot of emojis is not as potent for chatbots as it is for humans. While this study unravels the intricate pathway of how emojis augment service satisfaction, it also extends the dialogue of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and propels the new wave of the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm. Thus, this research lays down pathways for further studies in understanding the role of emotionally simulated interactions in automated technologies.