How Should AI Agents Ask for Donations? Comparison of Emotional and Normative Appeals in AI-Mediated Fundraising

AI chatbots are increasingly being used by charities to engage potential donors. However, as people may exhibit algorithm aversion and heightened scrutiny toward AI, it remains unclear whether persuasive strategies established in human fundraising operate similarly when delivered by an AI agent. In a between-subjects experiment (N=206), participants interacted with a charity AI agent that applied either an emotional appeal (messages evoking compassion and empathy) or a normative appeal (messages emphasizing that many others donate) for fundraising purposes. Results show that emotional appeals significantly enhanced donation intentions by inducing empathy. Normative appeals, however, reduced message believability, which subsequently weakened anticipatory guilt and ultimately lowered donation intentions. These findings identify message believability as a critical boundary condition for AI-delivered normative appeals and highlight the need for design approaches that carefully calibrate how AI agents employ different message strategies when soliciting donations.