Customer perceptions driving the adoption of artificial intelligence products in Ethiopian market

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how businesses function. Products with AI integration are the newest trend in several stores. In these stores, consumers interact with totally automated technology. As a result, it's important to carefully consider the factors that led to consumers' intention to buy these products. This paper attempts to investigate the factors influencing the customer intention to buy AI-integrated products in Ethiopia. A survey questionnaire is used to gather data from different customers located in different shopping centers in the capital city. A simple random sampling technique from different accessible shopping centers was used and a sample of 255 respondents was utilized or an actual response rate of 85%, were obtained in the analysis. Partial list square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The study finds customers' behavioral intentions are highly influenced by Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, attitude, subjective norm, and enjoyment. However, perceived cost and performance risk were found insignificant. This study offers important academic and managerial implications in the fields of business and technology. Business and policy makers needs to address affordability and digital literacy gap to enhance AI acceptance in Ethiopian market. Consequently, this study adds to the expanding body of research on emerging trends in services using AI-based technologies.