AI & Customer Engagement: Understanding How We Talk to Machines
Published: 27 February 2025
Generative AI is transforming the way we interact with technology. Dr Jaylan Azer’s research uncovers four styles of engagement and why they matter for business success.
From Alexa to ChatGPT, we’re talking to machines more than ever. But not all conversations are the same, and how we interact with AI can shape the success of the technology.
Dr Jaylan Azer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the Adam Smith Business School, has been exploring what’s known as Human-Machine Engagement (HME). Working with co-author Dr Matthew Alexander, Reader in Marketing at Strathclyde Business School, she examined how people interact with generative AI (GenAI) and what that means for the services sector.
The research collected thousands of posts from LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, both when ChatGPT first launched and again a year later. By looking at the hashtags and content people shared, the team discovered four clear styles of engagement:
- Informative – offering tutorials, templates, and expert tips.
- Experimenting – sharing the results of trying out AI prompts and features.
- Praising – expressing enthusiasm for AI’s potential, without showing use cases.
- Apprehensive – voicing concerns about risks, such as job loss.
The next step was to test how each style affects both users and service providers. The findings show that engagement is not just about what AI can do; it’s about the people using it. Understanding these patterns can help AI developers design more effective tools and enable businesses to introduce AI in ways that meet customer needs and expectations.
As Dr Azer explains, “It’s not just about the robot and what it can offer. It’s about the people and how they interact with these technologies.”
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 27 February 2025