Generative AI in Responsible Conversational Agent Adoption: Guidelines for Service Managers

Responsible integration of conversational agents (CAs) like chatbots is crucial for service firms to mitigate risks and foster positive outcomes. This article provides managerial guidelines through a Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) lens, focusing on CDR Culture, Management Structure, and Digital Governance across the service firm, software provider, and customers/society. It examines how organizational sensemaking processes of creation, interpretation, and enactment are triggered by CA-related issues and events. The research highlights the role of generative AI (GenAI) in implementing CDR factors and responsible CA software development lifecycle phases during development and integration. Guidelines are provided for leveraging GenAI to enhance CDR Culture, incorporate ethical considerations into CDR Management Structure, and enable robust Digital Governance mechanisms to prioritize customer/societal well-being. A multilevel framework illustrates reinforcing the guidelines through organizational sensemaking processes, and fostering responsible CA integration aligned with ethical principles and societal values.