Is Persuasion in the Eye of the Beholder?: A Study on the Use of Persuasive Technology and Its Effect

Introduction

Digital marketing is experiencing a profound transformation with all the technological advancements that are taking place. In particular, the fast-paced changes introduced by artificial intelligence (AI) and persuasive technologies are altering the landscape for brands and consumers. AI can analyze vast amounts of consumer data to personalize advertising or recommendations, enhance targeting, and obtain and analyze vast amounts of data about consumers, allowing to optimize campaigns. Persuasive technologies, by employing behavioral psychology, can influence consumers’ behavior through persuasive design and personalized messaging. Both technologies are changing the way brands interact with their consumers.

A topic that has aroused a growing interest for both practitioners and the scientific community is the use of technology as a vehicle for persuasion (Torning & Oinas-Kukkonen, 2009). Persuasive technology (PT), that refers to “interactive computing systems designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviors” (Fogg, 2003, p.1), has the power to shape how people act and experience reality (Nyström & Stibe, 2020). Increasingly developed and used commercially (Ahmad et al., 2020), PT can be used in many devices, from computers to smartphones, mobile applications (apps), or even on artificial intelligence-based persuasive technologies. Indeed, AI can also act as a form of PT as it can acquire large amounts of user’s data, find connections not visible to a human, profile users, and aim at persuading them, resulting in Persuasive Technology (Faraoni, 2023). At this purpose, Kahana (2023) claims that the recent developments of artificial intelligence are leading us into a new era, an era where the power of technology to persuade people toward desired individual and collective behaviors comes with an unprecedented “augmentation” factor fueled by AI. However, this area remains largely unchartered (Kahana, 2023).

The fast and exponential evolution of technology has reconfigured a specific domain: gambling. The gambling industry is considered to be one of the most rapidly ever-growing and changing industries in the world (Industry Insight, 2022). This multimillion-dollar global industry was valued in 2022 at USD $449.04 billion and is expected to grow to $702.45 billion in 2023, according to the Global Gambling Market Report (2023). Contributing to this growth is online gambling, one of the main trends in the global gambling industry (Statista, 2023a), along with the evolution and increased use of several technologies, ranging from virtual reality and augmented reality to persuasive technology and artificial intelligence. Digital and mobile technology has facilitated and disseminated the gambling process, by granting gamblers easy access, anytime and anywhere (Drosatos et al., 2018) to a plethora of immersive and engaging gambling digital platforms, and, at the same time, enabling the immediacy of betting. This allows, for example, bettors to predict and bet on certain outcomes during events, in real-time (Albarrán-Torres & Goggin, 2017). Technological evolution has changed gamblers’ habits and the increasing popularity of gambling apps and social gambling is also expected to propel the continuous growth of the market (Business Research Company, 2023). Other factors, such as cultural and legal approval, celebrity and social media influencers’ endorsements, as well as corporate sponsorships, are also propelling the market growth (Grand View Research, 2022).