loneliness and companionship.sav

Consumers increasingly seek online companionship in their daily lives. Alongside traditional real human online companionship, a novel form of online companionship through virtual humans powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has rapidly gained prominence. However, the factors influencing consumers' preferences for virtual versus real human companionship remain unexplored. The current research examines how loneliness shapes the preference for online companionship. Five experiments demonstrate that loneliness increases individuals' preferences for virtual human companionship (vs. real human) and such effect is driven by social anxiety. Importantly, this effect diminishes when the interaction serves a functional purpose. These findings provide valuable insights for marketers aiming to leverage virtual humans in the companionship economy and propose strategies to enhance consumer engagement with online companionship.