EVALUATION OF CONVERSATIONAL ROBOTS IN INSURED-INSURER COMMUNICATION BY PROFESSIONALS OF THE SPANISH INSURANCE INDUSTRY USING A TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL

This paper analyses the perception of 63 professionals from the Spanish insurance industry regarding the usefulness of conversational robots (chatbots) in customer interactions with their insurers concerning procedures related to existing contracts, such as claims reporting, for example. To explain this perception, the study relies on the widely used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which considers perceived usefulness and ease of use as explanatory variables for the attitude towards technology adoption. Additionally, the analysis includes trust in chatbots. The study also examines two open-ended questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology. To conduct the analysis, a quantitative approach is employed using a Structural Equation Model estimated by Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM), and a qualitative analysis of the open-ended responses is also carried out.The results of the PLS-SEM analysis show a good fit of the TAM to the survey used in the research, revealing a significant direct influence of perceived usefulness on the acceptance of chatbots, as well as a similarly significant impact of ease of use and trust, but mediated by perceived usefulness. However, overall, the respondents' attitude towards chatbots is negative. Various reasons were identified, including difficulties in interacting with chatbots, the need to seek assistance from a human operator, a lack of emotional skills such as empathy, concerns about job displacement, low reliability, and a failure to perceive benefits in terms of the impact of reducing administrative costs on product improvements.