What makes customers rate an AI voice bot well? A practical reading of Dayan (2026)

Dayan (2026) found that customers judge an AI voice bot as one overall impression, and that this perceived quality is the strongest predictor of how they rate the service overall. Part of the effect runs through perceived usefulness. Interaction complexity showed no significant moderating or predictive effect.

Customers can distinguish the facets of a voice bot's quality, yet their overall impression carries most of the weight. In the study, perceived quality was the strongest predictor of overall service quality.

The effect of perceived quality on overall service quality runs directly and partly through perceived usefulness, so customers who see the bot as useful rate the service higher.

Design and evaluate the voice bot as one experience. Invest in the overall quality impression of the agent. Communicate usefulness clearly.

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Dayan, O. (2026). One voice, one impression: Why customers perceive the service quality of AI voice bots holistically and what it means for electronic commerce. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 21(10), 363. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21100363