Virtual Museum Tour Agent: Effects of Responsiveness and Awareness

We explored how responsiveness (i.e., the ability to answer questions) and awareness (i.e., the ability to navigate toward the user in the virtual environment) of a virtual agent acting as a tour guide impact study participants in a virtual museum. We followed a 2 (responsiveness: non-responsive vs. responsive virtual agent) $\times 2$ (awareness: unaware vs. aware virtual agent) within-group ($N=29$) study design and conducted a study to explore several variables spanning: agent credibility and intelligence (i.e., perceived intelligence, perceived knowledge), social interaction and presence (i.e., co-presence, rapport), human-likeness (i.e., uncanny valley, anthropomorphism), awareness dimensions (i.e., private, public, and surrounding awareness), desire for future interaction, and behavioral responses (i.e., distance traveled, dwell gazes). We found that the responsive virtual agent positively impacted participants' perceived intelligence, perceived knowledgeability, co-presence, rapport, anthropomorphism, surrounding awareness, desire for future interaction, and dwell gaze on surroundings. However, the awareness factor did not impact our participants. Instead, we found responsiveness $\times$ awareness interaction effects on distance traveled, dwell gaze on the virtual agent, and dwell gaze on surroundings. These findings offer valuable insights into designing intelligent virtual agents that act as museum tour guides, enhancing user experience in virtual museum settings.