Human Is Gold: Why Premium Customers Hate Chatbots and What to Do About It.

This article investigates how customers’ marketplace status influences their biases against chatbot-delivered customer support services. Through three preregistered experiments involving airline and bank customers, the research finds that high-tier customers (e.g., platinum or gold members) exhibit stronger negative reactions to chatbots compared to basic-tier customers, despite identical service outcomes. This asymmetrical bias is partially explained by high-tier customers’ greater perceptions of uniqueness neglect—the belief that chatbots fail to recognize their individual needs—and entitlement to human service. The studies also demonstrate that framing chatbots as “premium,” “personalized,” or “highly-rated” can significantly reduce this bias among high-tier customers. Additionally, the research shows that earned high-tier status (achieved through effort or payment) intensifies chatbot aversion more than unearned status (e.g., awarded by lottery), suggesting firms should prioritize human service for earned high-tier customers while employing targeted framing strategies to mitigate chatbot bias.