AI Empathy and Sustainable Consumption

Can an empathic voice close the gap between good intentions and real behavior?

We investigate whether empathic AI voice agents can help consumers turn sustainable intentions into sustainable choices. Our research examines emotional support, ethical nudging, value alignment, and the boundary between beneficial persuasion and manipulation.

About the programme

An older hand holding an apple, drawn in small squares

Most consumers want to consume sustainably. Far fewer actually do. We investigate whether empathic AI agents acting as ethical digital advisors, regulating emotions, offering moral nudges, and aligning conversations with users' values, can turn sustainable intentions into sustainable choices.

And because persuasion in the name of good is still persuasion, we study with equal rigor where the ethical boundaries of such influence lie.

Working paperSSRN

Generative AI-Enabled Empathy and Persuasion in Voice Assistants: Impact on Sustainable Consumer Choice

Read the work sample

Related publications

2026International Conference on Sustainability and Innovation Processes and Systems, Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 92–103AI with a Conscience: Empathic Voice Assistants for Sustainable Shopping DecisionsMari, A., & Alabed, A.

Related explainers

DefinitionWhat is AI empathy?A machine’s ability to recognize how someone feels, understand why, and respond in a way that helps.
EthicsWhen does AI persuasion become manipulation?Persuasion works through reasons people can weigh. Manipulation works around them. Five questions that tell the two apart.