Trust, Empathy, and Cultural Relevance in AI Chatbots: Insights from Pakistani E- Commerce Consumers

Abstract

The growing use of AI chatbots as the face of customer service in Pakistan e-commerce, as e-commerce markets develop and reliance on them increases, has implications for trust, empathy, and cultural sociality design around the matter of consumer / user experience. This research explores the importance of relational aspects relating to chatbot interactions, namely empathy, trust and culture, perceived by Pakistani consumers. Structured questionnaire was administered on 200 active Daraz users to measure perceived empathy, assurance, cultural fit and their joint effect on customer satisfaction. Findings indicated that although 62% of individuals appreciated the presence and effectiveness of chatbots, only 47% believed that chatbots were empathetic, with just 44% feeling confident in the accuracy and confidentiality of responses provided by a chatbot. Cultural relevance was found to be a strong determinant, where 58% participants wanted the interaction to be localized and bilingual (Urdu-English) for more natural end-user communication. Results of the regression analysis showed that character strengths were a significant negative predictor of bad days (β = - 0.74, p <.01), with cultural relevance being the most prominent predictor; followed by trust and empathy, which were still moderate but also strong predictors of TMF’s satisfaction (all p <0.05). These insights emphasize the recognition of chatbot effectiveness but also demonstrate that relationship deficits in empathy and reassurance are barriers to consumer adoption. The results suggest that embedding cultural sensitivity and transparent trust mechanisms into chatbot design can enhance consumer engagement and loyalty in Pakistan’s e- commerce sector.