Beyond Functionality: Unveiling Dimensions of User Experience in Embodied Conversational Agents for Customer Service

Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) are increasingly being deployed in the customer service field. However, their user experience post-adoption remains under-researched. Through interviews with customer service practitioners and review of existing ECA research, we identified eighteen key items of ECA experience. Based on these items, we conducted a survey among users who have interacted with ECAs. Utilizing exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, we developed a five-dimension model: trustworthy, approachable, humanized, engaging, and supportive experiences. We found that the evaluation of experience importance varied according to users' educational backgrounds and annual incomes. Users with higher education and income levels exhibited higher expectation for trustworthy experience. Additionally, our research suggests that the design features of ECAs contribute distinctively to these five user experience dimensions. These insights provide novel directions for adopting a user-centered design approach to improve ECA interactions.