The Influence of Shopee’s AI Chatbot Interactional Flow on Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery Satisfaction Among Generation Z

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the influence of Shopee's AI chatbot interactional flow on customer loyalty through service recovery satisfaction as a mediating variable among Generation Z consumers. The background of this study is driven by the prevalence of automated service failures in artificial intelligence-based customer services that risk decreasing user loyalty. The research method used is quantitative with a survey technique by distributing questionnaires to 100 Generation Z respondents selected through a purposive sampling approach. Data analysis was carried out using Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) through the SmartPLS 4 application. The results of the study showed that interactional flow has a direct, positive, and significant effect on service recovery satisfaction. However, interactional flow is proven to have no significant direct effect on customer loyalty, and service recovery satisfaction also does not significantly influence customer loyalty. Furthermore, service recovery satisfaction is found to exert no mediating role within this model. This finding emphasizes that short-term interactional satisfaction with AI is insufficient to build long-term loyalty among Generation Z without concrete recovery solutions. Therefore, organizations are advised to enhance real problem-solving capabilities within their AI systems to retain digital customers.