Typography meets question type: Unveiling their matching effect on willingness to pay for AI products

This study examines the matching effect of a critical visual element—typeface—and question type in AI large language model products, and their impact on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). Drawing on six experiments with 3,634 participants from three culturally diverse countries, the results demonstrate that a machine-like typeface increases WTP for non-conversational questions, while a handwritten-like typeface enhances WTP for conversational questions. For non-conversational questions, the effect is mediated by the perceived authority of the AI, whereas for conversational questions, the effect is mediated by perceived friendliness. Additionally, the study investigates consumers’ AI knowledge as a boundary condition, revealing that the congruence between typeface and question type has a more substantial influence on WTP among users with lower AI knowledge. These findings provide key insights into the interplay between typeface, question type, user perceptions, and WTP in AI product contexts.