The role of AI-activated positive emotions in users’ continuous use of digital financial services: an experimental and survey study

Why friendly AI in money apps matters

More and more of our daily money chores now happen on a screen instead of at a bank counter. Behind many of these digital financial services, such as savings tools and payment apps, are artificial intelligence systems that chat, recommend, and guide. This study asks a simple but important question for everyday users: when these AI helpers make us feel good, does that pleasant feeling actually keep us using digital financial services over time, and does it change how safe and valuable we think they are?

From chatbots to cheerful digital guides

The researchers focus on AI features that can spark positive emotions during routine money tasks. These include digital humans and chatbots that greet users warmly, use friendly voices or animations, and respond in ways that feel personal. In their work, "AI-activated positive emotions" refers to feelings like pleasure, excitement, anticipation, and curiosity that are triggered by interacting with these AI elements, rather than coming from the financial product alone. The study is set in the world of Chinese digital finance, using Yu'E Bao, a large online savings service accessed through a popular mobile app.

Testing emotions in a controlled experiment

In the first part of the research, the team ran a comparison experiment with experienced Yu'E Bao users. Participants first thought about their current use of the service in a neutral setting, then watched a short video featuring a bright, animated digital human designed to be friendly and upbeat. Before and after the video, people rated how strongly they felt positive emotions, how risky they thought the service was, how much value it brought them, how satisfied they were, and whether they intended to keep using it. The results showed that the video clearly boosted all five types of positive feelings. When these AI-driven emotions were higher, people saw more value in the service, worried less about losing money, and were more willing to continue using it. However, their sense of satisfaction with the service itself did not rise as strongly or as reliably.

Following the path from feelings to long term use

The second part of the study zoomed out and asked a broader question: how do these positive emotions fit into what we already know about why people stick with a digital service over time? Using survey data from more than a thousand long term users, the authors applied an "expectation confirmation" framework. In simple terms, people come in with hopes about how useful and convenient a money app will be. After using it, they compare those hopes with what they actually experience. If reality matches or exceeds expectations, they feel the service is useful and become satisfied, which in turn strengthens their intention to keep using it. The study found that this chain held for digital finance: confirmation increased the sense of usefulness and satisfaction, and both made continued use more likely.

How happy feelings shape money app habits

Crucially, when the researchers added AI activated positive emotions into this framework, the picture became clearer. Positive emotions not only raised satisfaction directly but also pushed people toward stronger plans to keep using digital financial services, even after accounting for usefulness and satisfaction. In models that included these emotions, the ability to explain why users stayed with the service improved. In other words, friendly AI did not just make the app feel nicer in the moment; it played a real role in locking in ongoing use by nudging people to see the service as more worthwhile and less risky.

What this means for everyday users and designers

For non specialists, the takeaway is that how a money app makes you feel is not a side issue. The way its AI helper looks, sounds, and behaves can meaningfully change your comfort level, your sense of safety, and whether you keep the app at the center of your financial routine. For designers and policymakers, the study suggests that building AI that feels warm and supportive can be a powerful way to support long term use of digital financial tools, but it also warns that reduced feelings of risk may tempt people to overlook real dangers. The authors conclude that emotional design in AI powered finance is a double edged tool that should be used carefully to support both engagement and informed, cautious decision making.

Citation: Chen, X., Chen, C. & Huang, L. The role of AI-activated positive emotions in users’ continuous use of digital financial services: an experimental and survey study. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 13, 752 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-07157-4

Keywords: digital financial services, artificial intelligence, positive emotions, chatbots, user engagement