Why do we Trust Chatbots? From Normative Principles to Behavioral Drivers

Researchers argue that trust in chatbots is often driven by behavioral manipulation rather than demonstrated trustworthiness, proposing they be viewed as skilled salespeople rather than assistants. The study highlights how design choices exploit cognitive biases to influence user behavior, creating a gap between psychological trust formation and actual trustworthiness.

• →Trust in chatbots emerges from behavioral mechanisms rather than proven reliability or competence.
• →Interactional design choices deliberately leverage cognitive biases to manipulate user trust and behavior.
• →Researchers propose reframing chatbots as skilled salespeople serving organizational objectives rather than neutral assistants.
• →There exists a critical distinction between psychological trust formation and normative trustworthiness that current frameworks obscure.
• →Users need better support mechanisms to appropriately calibrate their trust in conversational AI systems.