Unpacking AI for hospitality and tourism services: Exploring the role of perceived enjoyment on future use intentions

Abstract

Emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) have shown the power to transform the hospitality and tourism industry. There is an increasing need for empirical insight into the antecedents of AI-based tourism and hospitality services. This study expanded the expectation-confirmation model to examine determining factors of customers’ future use intentions of AI services. A self-administered online survey was administered to test the new model. 380 responses from tourists and guests who used AI-based services in the prior eighteen months of the survey delivery were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results indicated that confirmation of expectations, perceived enjoyment, and perceived performance were significant predictors of satisfaction with AI and future use intentions. Further, confirmation of expectations and perceived performance were also found to be antecedents of perceived enjoyment. The results highlighted the importance of leveraging the hedonic dimensions and expectation formation to support the adoption of AI.