The Illusion of Empathy: How AI Chatbots Shape Conversation Perception

TL;DR

This study investigates how AI chatbots' perceived empathy affects conversation quality, revealing that despite high-quality interactions, chatbots are perceived as less empathetic than humans, highlighting the complexity of human-AI empathy perception.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the discrepancy between chatbot conversation quality and perceived empathy, emphasizing the importance of nuanced empathy perception in AI interactions.

Findings

GPT-based chatbots scored higher in conversation quality

Chatbots perceived as less empathetic than humans

Perceived empathy significantly influences conversation experience

Abstract

As AI chatbots increasingly incorporate empathy, understanding user-centered perceptions of chatbot empathy and its impact on conversation quality remains essential yet under-explored. This study examines how chatbot identity and perceived empathy influence users' overall conversation experience. Analyzing 155 conversations from two datasets, we found that while GPT-based chatbots were rated significantly higher in conversational quality, they were consistently perceived as less empathetic than human conversational partners. Empathy ratings from GPT-4o annotations aligned with user ratings, reinforcing the perception of lower empathy in chatbots compared to humans. Our findings underscore the critical role of perceived empathy in shaping conversation quality, revealing that achieving high-quality human-AI interactions requires more than simply embedding empathetic language; it necessitates addressing the nuanced ways users interpret and experience empathy in conversations with chatbots.