From agility to action: how AI chatbot promotes green customer citizenship behavior

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) increasingly penetrates the hospitality industry, AI chatbots are reshaping customer-hotel interactions and may become vital drivers of sustainable behavior. This study investigates how AI agility-the capability of chatbots to respond adaptively, rapidly, and intelligently- affects customers’ green citizenship behavior in the context of green hotels. Drawing on social facilitation theory, six experiments were conducted with 1,555 participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. The findings reveal that AI agility enhances green customer citizenship behavior (Study 1). Social presence and subjective happiness serve as sequential mediators for this effect (Studies 2A–2C), with Study 2C employing an incentive-compatible behavioral task to validate actual green citizenship behavior. Moreover, communication style (task- vs. social-oriented; Study 3) and customer mindset (busy vs. leisure; Study 4) moderate the effect of AI agility, such that task-oriented contexts and busy mindsets amplify its positive influence on green behavior. This research extends social facilitation theory to human–AI interactions, elucidates the socio–affective mechanism through which AI agility fosters prosocial behavior, and offers practical guidance for designing agile AI chatbots that enhance customer well-being and sustainability engagement.