Abstract
Generative-AI is swiftly permeating every facet of our daily lives. Most notably, ChatGPT—a chatbot leveraging large language model (GPT-4) to understand and generate human-like language—has received global recognition, becoming one of the most widely adopted AI-based applications. Despite some limitations, generative AI technologies have not only affected consumer markets and business operations but also have the potential to revolutionize academic research. This paper discusses how generative AI tools can facilitate consumer behavior research, offering a detailed guide for researchers seeking to utilize these transformative tools. Adopting a practical, “how to” perspective, we discuss the potential benefits—and limitations—of generative AI at different stages of the research process. With the right prompts, and sufficient researcher supervision (and intervention), we show that generative AI can help researchers develop insightful and testable research hypotheses; identify relevant literature; understand constructs; identify mediators; moderators and alternative outcome measures; create stimuli; develop measurements; write code for survey design software; write code for conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses; and suggest changes to improve the stylistic aspects of writing. Throughout our review, we offer practical tips and provide concrete examples to illustrate how researchers can interact with the chatbot to improve the research process. We conclude with a discussion on the potential of these groundbreaking technologies, which continue to advance at unprecedent speed, and the ethical implications that should be considered by the researchers and policy makers in applying these tools.