Eye contact is a powerful part of human communication. It signals attention, builds trust, and can even influence how we make decisions. But what happens when the eyes belong to a robot? Can artificial attention shape human intention?
The Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) is a non-profit research institute in Germany that studies how consumer behavior is affected by changing technologies. One of their key goals is to understand how people make decisions in today’s digital and AI-driven world, and how those decisions can be shaped, for better or worse.
The study involved 4,500 participants in the U.S., where AI-powered advisors are increasingly common. Participants were placed in one of nine test groups, each experiencing a different kind of financial advisor, ranging from a simple website to a human expert, and including a socially interactive Furhat robot. Some versions made eye contact, others didn’t.
While human advisors still earned the highest trust, robots like Furhat outperformed websites, especially when eye contact was involved. Participants who made eye contact with the robot rated it as more competent, trustworthy, and likeable. They also felt more satisfied with their decisions and were more likely to recommend the advisor. Eye contact did not lead to higher investments directly, but it significantly improved how the advisor was perceived.
This suggests that adding natural, human-like behaviors, such as gaze, can make AI agents feel more socially present and impactful. For businesses, it is a chance to make digital touchpoints more engaging. For consumers, it is a reminder to stay aware of how technology can influence decisions, even in subtle ways.
As robots become more common in customer-facing roles, understanding these effects is key. Trust can be earned, even by a robot, but we need to understand when, how, and why it happens.
Gnewuch, U., et al. "Robot Shopping Assistants: How Emotional versus Rational Robot Design Affect Consumer Trust and Purchase Decisions." Proceedings of the 2024 European Conference on Information Systems, 2024, Cyprus. https://www.nim.org/en/publications/detail/robot-shopping-assistants
Kaiser, C., et al. "The Role of Eye Contact in Human-Robot Interaction: Trust and Decision Making in Virtual Financial Advisory." Proceedings of the 32nd European Conference on Information Systems, 2024, Cyprus. https://www.nim.org/en/publications/detail/the-role-of-eye-contact-in-human-robot-interaction
Kaiser, C., et al. "The Future of Tourist Assistance: Social Robots in Action." NIM Insights Research Magazin, vol. 6, 2024, "The AI Transformation." https://www.nim.org/en/publications/detail/the-future-of-tourist-assistance
Wiedenhöft, C., et al. "Comfort with Social Robots in the Pre-Interaction Phase: A Field Experiment with Customers of a Retail Bank." Proceedings of the HCI International Conference 2025, 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden. https://www.nim.org/en/research/projects-overview/detail-research-project/social-robots-in-retail-banking
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