Class Year
2026
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Fall 2025
Department 1
Management
Abstract
This study examines how AI-driven features in e-commerce influence user satisfaction and the role of trust in these interactions. Using a survey-based dataset of 100 consumers, we investigated whether trust moderates or mediates the impact of AI persuasiveness and perceptions of bias, intrusiveness, and preference understanding on satisfaction. Results indicate that AI’s perceived ability to understand user preferences strongly predicts satisfaction, while trust partially mediates the relationship between helpful AI features and urgency messages and user satisfaction. Conversely, trust did not significantly moderate these relationships, and concerns about bias and intrusiveness had minimal impact. Findings suggest that AI-driven satisfaction is primarily driven by functional value and accurate personalization, with trust acting as an explanatory mechanism for certain features. Implications for ethical, user-centered AI design in online retail are discussed.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Nepal, Akriti, "Trust and Ethics in AI-Driven E-Commerce: Persuasion vs. Privacy" (2025). Student Publications. 1184.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/1184
Included in
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons, E-Commerce Commons, Technology and Innovation Commons
Comments
This work was written for MGT 405: Advanced Topics in BOM.