Abstract

As artificial intelligence–enabled chatbots become integral to digital commerce, personalization has emerged as a central mechanism shaping consumer responses. While prior studies acknowledge the effectiveness of personalization, limited research explains the psychological processes through which AI chatbot personalization influences consumer purchase intent. This study develops a theory-driven conceptual framework integrating relationship marketing and technology acceptance perspectives to examine how personalized chatbot interactions affect purchase intent. The framework proposes that personalization enhances perceived relevance and consumer engagement while calibrating trust in the chatbot, and that these factors jointly mediate the relationship between personalization and purchase intent. By articulating explicit causal pathways and testable hypotheses, the study advances mechanism-based understanding of AI-enabled personalization and addresses fragmentation in existing literature. The findings offer actionable insights for firms seeking to design transparent, trustworthy, and effective chatbot systems and contribute to responsible AI governance in digital markets.