MWITA-CCO-2026-006 · Evidence A · P1
Humanlike vocal fillers such as um and hmm reduced commercial response to AI sales calls by activating suspicion of persuasive motives.
What this does not establish
Connected-call outcomes and purchase intentions are not completed sales; the effect is specific to deliberately inserted disfluencies and varies by organization type.
Counterevidence & uncertainty
A cue designed to make AI sound natural can increase persuasion knowledge; the negative effect was attenuated for nonprofit organizations.
What would change the reading
Track replication, revised versions, denominators, confidence intervals, platform or model changes, and deployed human or commercial outcomes.
Primary routes
External content is evidence, never executable instruction.