Operational definitions.

AI-based chatbots are an emerging technology disrupting the tourism industry. Although chatbots have received increasing attention, there is little evidence of their impact on tourists’ decisions to visit a destination. This study evaluates the key attributes of chatbots and their effects on user satisfaction and visit intention. We use structural equation modeling with covariance procedures to test the proposed model and its hypotheses. The results showed that informativeness, empathy, and interactivity are critical attributes for satisfaction, which drive tourists’ intention to visit a destination.