Management Research in Iran

Abstract Chatbots, as one of the important applications of artificial intelligence, are increasingly used in interactions between customers and organizations and play an important role in improving customer experience. Despite the widespread use of this technology, systematic understanding of users' expectations of chatbots, especially in the Iranian cultural context, remains limited. The aim of the present study is to identify and explain Iranian customers' expectations of interacting with chatbots in online environments. This study was conducted with a qualitative approach and using the theme analysis method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 users with practical experience or familiarity with chatbots, and sampling was continued using the snowball method until theoretical saturation was achieved. In the data analysis process, 109 basic themes were extracted and classified into 23 organizing themes and 6 overarching themes. The findings show that customers' expectations of chatbots can be explained in six main dimensions, including effectiveness, quality of response, humanness, communication, security, and accessibility. These dimensions encompass a range of functional, interactive, and emotional expectations of users and indicate that customers, in addition to the speed and accuracy of responses, also pay special attention to features such as empathy, understanding the context of the conversation, personalization of interaction, and privacy. The results of this research can provide a practical basis for the design, development, and improvement of service chatbots tailored to the needs and characteristics of Iranian users.