The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Co‐Experience on Consumer Loneliness: The Role of Culture and Experience Valence
Yiming Qian, Carlos Velasco, Xiaoang Irene Wan · Psychology and Marketing · 2026
ABSTRACT This research investigates whether AI‐mediated co‐experience can alleviate consumer loneliness and improve service evaluations and examines how these effects vary across cultural contexts. Drawing on social presence theory, cultural dimensions theory, and attribution theory, we examine the role of culture in shaping consumer responses to AI co‐experience across both positive and negative service contexts. Study 1 shows that AI co‐experience enhances service satisfaction, with collectivist consumers reporting lower loneliness and stronger continuance intention than individualistic consumers. Study 2A replicates these findings in a negative service context using national‐level cultural comparisons. Study 2B extends the research by operationalizing culture through individual‐level measurement of cultural values and introducing responsibility attribution as an additional moderator, revealing that external attribution leads to more favorable consumer responses. This research extends the co‐experience framework to the AI service domain, advances cultural frameworks by theorizing culture as a moderator, and offers implications for culturally adaptive AI service design.