Persuasive or Neutral? A Field Experiment on Generative AI in Online Travel Planning
This addresses the problem of optimizing AI design for user behavior in consumer-facing applications like online travel agencies, though it is incremental in testing specific linguistic variations.
The study investigated how the tone of generative AI (positive enthusiasm vs. neutral vs. control) affects user engagement and purchases in online travel planning, finding that positive enthusiasm led to longer prompts and both positive and neutral tones increased subscription purchases.
Generative AI (GenAI) offers new opportunities for customer support in online travel agencies, yet little is known about how its design influences user engagement, purchase behavior, and user experience. We report results from a randomized field experiment in online travel itinerary planning, comparing GenAI that expressed (A) positive enthusiasm, (B) neutral expression, and (C) no tone instructions (control). Users in group A wrote significantly longer prompts than those in groups B and C. At the same time, users in groups A and B were more likely to purchase subscriptions of the webservice. We further analyze linguistic cues across experimental groups to explore differences in user experience and explain subscription purchases and affiliate link clicks based on these cues. Our findings provide implications for the design of persuasive and engaging GenAI interfaces in consumer-facing contexts and contribute to understanding how linguistic framing shapes user behavior in AI-mediated decision support.