Understanding and Supporting Online Discussion with Opinionated Chatbots

Opinionated chatbots are increasingly present on online platforms and have the potential to shape public discourse by influencing individuals' viewpoints before they engage in discussions. Despite their growing presence, the impact of interacting with opinionated chatbots on subsequent online interactions remains largely unexplored. This study investigated how exposure to different types of opinionated chatbots, specifically those expressing opposing, reinforcing, or balanced viewpoints, affected participants' subsequent online discussions. In a controlled experiment with 83 participants, we found that interacting with an opinionated chatbot that consistently opposed participants' arguments led to greater shifts in opinion, indicating enhanced openness to revising one's initial stance. Conversely, participants who interacted with a chatbot that consistently reinforced their views were more likely to adopt more agreeable communication styles in subsequent conversations with others. Furthermore, interactions with different types of opinionated chatbots resulted in varying levels of trust, as well as different perceptions of chatbots and human interlocutors. Our findings indicate that opinionated chatbots can influence both individuals' opinions on social topics and their communication behaviors in online environments. This presents a trade-off for future designers seeking to facilitate cognitive flexibility in changing opinions while maintaining positive user experiences and trust in the chatbots during public discourse. We discuss the implications for designing opinionated chatbots to promote more constructive and less polarized online