Inconsequential Appearances: An Analysis of Anthropomorphic Language in Voice Assistant Forums.

We compared anthropomorphic language use in online forums about the Amazon Echo Show, Q.bo One, and Anki Vector; carrying out a content analysis of forum and Reddit threads, as well as a Facebook group. Our expectation was to find the highest amount of anthropomorphism for Q.bo One due to its humanoid shape, however, findings suggest that the life-likeness of the artifact is not pre-dominantly linked to the appearance, but to its interactivity and attributed agency and gender.