Case Studies

How Hume’s AI Voice Transforms Consumer Decision-Making: Insights from University of Zurich and ETH Zurich

By Jeffrey Brooks on March 6, 2025

Key Findings

Empathy Drives Preference: Consumers prefer AI shopping assistants with empathy over purely utility-focused ones, especially for emotionally driven purchases.
Personalization Enhances Satisfaction: Hume’s EVI adapts its responses based on user emotions and product type, creating more engaging and satisfying shopping experiences.
Promoting Mindful Consumption: The study suggests that EVI’s empathic approach may help curb impulse buying by encouraging users to reflect on their purchases, promoting mindful consumption and long-term well-being.

The Study: Exploring the Role of Empathy in AI Voice Assistants

Traditional AI voice assistants, like Alexa or Google Assistant, excel at functional tasks (e.g., setting reminders or finding information) but often lack the emotional depth needed for meaningful user connections, especially in emotionally driven settings like shopping for experiential products (e.g., scented candles) or customer service interactions.

To address this gap, researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) and ETH Zurich conducted a groundbreaking study as part of the AI Empathy Research Initiative, exploring how empathic AI could impact the consumer decision-making process by enhancing user satisfaction and emotional well-being.

The research team integrated Hume’s Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) with the eBay catalog to function as a shopping assistant with varying empathy levels:

Utility-Focused EVI: Designed to provide straightforward, task-oriented assistance (e.g., finding products, answering questions).
Empathic EVI: Adapted its tone and responses based on user emotions to provide a more thoughtful and engaging shopping experience.

The study involved simulated shopping scenarios for both functional products (e.g., batteries) and experiential products (e.g., scented candles), allowing researchers to measure how empathy influenced user preferences and decision-making in these different consumer contexts.

Key Insights: Empathy Drives Preference and User Satisfaction

The results of the study were clear:

Consumers Prefer Empathic AI: Participants overwhelmingly favored the empathic version of EVI, especially for experiential purchases. They found it more effective, satisfying, and enjoyable to interact with compared to the utility-focused version.
Enhanced Satisfaction: For emotionally driven purchases (e.g., scented candles), the empathic EVI significantly improved user satisfaction by creating a more personalized and human-like interaction.

Future Applications: Expanding the Role of Empathic AI

The success of this study has opened the door to new applications for Hume’s EVI across industries. Researchers are now exploring how empathic AI can be used to:

Curb Impulse Buying: By gently encouraging users to reflect on their purchasing decisions, EVI can promote more mindful and ethical consumption.
Support Healthier Aging: Projects like Cary Ally, an empathy-centered voice companion for seniors, aim to build emotionally resonant connections, helping older adults feel heard, valued, and cared for.

Conclusion: The Transformative Power of Empathic AI

The collaboration between University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, and Hume demonstrates the transformative potential of empathic AI in consumer decision-making. By integrating Hume’s EVI, AI voice assistants can go beyond utility to create meaningful emotional connections with users, enhancing satisfaction and promoting mindful consumption.

As AI continues to evolve, the focus will be on refining these capabilities to ensure that voice assistants not only meet practical needs but also enhance emotional well-being and ethical decision-making.

For more information on how empathic AI can transform your industry, please contact Hume AI.