Honors Theses and Capstones

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Project Type

Senior Honors Thesis

College or School

PAUL

Program or Major

Business Administration

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

First Advisor

Thomas Gruen

Abstract

With the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence, consumers have found themselves faced with an abundance of options for information retrieval. This study is designed to explore when consumers choose to use an AI tool as opposed to a traditional search engine, as well as determining what the user segments look like for AI tools. The results of this study indicate that there are two AI user segments, along with a third segment of non-users that were not included in the study. One segment has fully embraced the use of AI, while the other has tested it and only uses it in select instances. The study also found that in most scenarios, consumers choose to use a traditional search engine over an AI tool, however, this is not always the case. These findings have important implications, both in how consumers approach artificial intelligence in the future, as well in how businesses choose to shape their online presence in the changing landscape.

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