Chatbots as Brand Ambassadors: Measuring the Impact of Conversational AI on Customer Loyalty

Abstract

This study examines how conversational artificial intelligence chatbots operate as brand ambassadors and shape customer loyalty within digital marketing environments. Using a systematic literature review, the article synthesizes prior research on chatbot design, customer experience, and relationship marketing to develop an integrative framework. The findings show that chatbots influence loyalty indirectly by affecting customer trust, satisfaction, engagement, and perceived brand personality. Anthropomorphic cues, social presence, and brand congruent communication strengthen perceptions of warmth, competence, and service quality, thereby improving evaluations of both the interaction and the brand. At the same time, functional performance, reliability, and problem solving ability emerge as non negotiable conditions for any positive loyalty effect. When chatbot experiences are efficient, humanlike, and aligned with brand positioning, customers are more likely to continue using the chatbot, recommend the brand, and resist switching to competitors. The review also identifies research gaps and proposes directions for future empirical studies. Overall, the study highlights boundary conditions under which chatbots may fail.