Intelligent machines (e.g., artificial intelligence, algorithms, and robotics) with the capability to make decisions autonomously either augment or substitute human employees due to rapid evolution in technology (Man Tang et al., 2022; Larivière, et al., 2017). Therefore, studies have shown that in consumer services, the role of intelligent machines falls into two categories: augmentation or substitution of human employees (McLeay et al., 2021; Larivière, et al., 2017). Specifically, human employee augmentation means that the role of intelligent machines is to assist and complement human employee, with the two used together to produce better outcomes (Larivière, et al., 2017). For example, in a retail bank in Japan, collaborative robots work side by side with bank employees to serve customers (Marinova et al., 2017); IBM’s Watson can assist doctors with diagnosis (Larivière, et al., 2017). Human employee substitution reflects the role of intelligent machines to replace human workers (McLeay et al., 2021). For example, restaurants such as Spyce, where robots are replacing human employees to take orders for customers (Wang et al., 2022). However, there are still a lot of unexplored aspects concerning consumers’ specific reactions toward this new form of a service provider. The study examines customers responses when human employees are augmented or substituted by intelligent machines, including responses that promote beneficial consumption (e.g., join a health program) and those that promote harmful consumption (e.g., pursue high return-risk offerings, enhance preferences for risk-taking behavior). In this article, we attempt to answer the following questions:

• Hao Zhang(Northeastern University, China)
• Xiaofei Bai(Northeastern University, China)