How AI chatbot services quality affects customer satisfaction and loyalty in e-commerce in Malaysia

Lai, Jing Lu (2025) How AI chatbot services quality affects customer satisfaction and loyalty in e-commerce in Malaysia. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

This study examines the impact of AI chatbot service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the Malaysian e-commerce industry, with particular attention to differences across racial groups. As AI chatbots become increasingly prevalent as a customer service tool, understanding how users perceive their service quality is essential for sustaining competitive advantage in digital markets. Data were collected from 240 Malaysian e-commerce users through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that perceived ease of use, reliability, and anthropomorphism have significant positive effects on customer satisfaction, while responsiveness exhibits a significant negative relationship. Customer satisfaction is found to have a strong positive influence on customer loyalty and plays a mediating role between chatbot service quality and loyalty. The multi-group analysis reveals notable differences across racial groups. Chinese users place the greatest emphasis on ease of use and reliability, followed by users categorized under the “Others” group, whereas Indian users tend to prioritize relational and interaction-related aspects over system performance. The relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is strongest among Chinese users and weakest among Indian users. In contrast, anthropomorphism and responsiveness are perceived consistently across all groups. These findings highlight the importance of designing chatbots that are intuitive, reliable, and human-like, while also considering cultural diversity in user expectations. The study contributes to the literature on AI-enabled service quality and provides practical implications for e-commerce firms aiming to improve chatbot design, enhance customer satisfaction, and foster long-term customer loyalty in Malaysia’s multicultural environment. Keywords: AI chatbots, Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, E commerce

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