Persuasive technology has evolved from simple behavior-change tools to complex, interactive systems that dynamically adapt to users’ needs, contexts, and emotions. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, affective computing, and multimodal sensing, persuasion is no longer confined to rule-based strategies but has become an intelligent, data-driven, and human-aware process. These technologies now play a key role in health promotion, education, sustainability, and well-being by enabling adaptive, personalized, and ethically grounded interventions.

The next generation of persuasive systems will be characterized by deeper integration between humans and intelligent agents. As interaction paradigms shift toward conversational AI, embodied agents, and immersive environments, persuasive systems must be able to interpret and respond to emotional cues, social context, and individual preferences. Such systems can foster long-term engagement, empathy, and trust—but they also raise new challenges related to transparency, user autonomy, and ethical persuasion. Understanding how to balance persuasive effectiveness with respect for users’ freedom and well-being is a central question for the field.

This Research Topic aims to bring together multidisciplinary perspectives to explore how advances in AI, affective computing, personalization, and Human–AI Interaction can shape the design of persuasive systems. We invite contributions that address theoretical frameworks, computational models, experimental studies, and design cases that deepen our understanding of persuasion in intelligent, interactive, and human-centered technologies.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Adaptive and personalized persuasive systems

• Human–AI interaction and collaboration in persuasive contexts

• Emotion-aware and affective computing approaches to persuasion

• Gesture recognition, behavioral modeling, and embodied persuasion

• Physiological signal analysis for affective and persuasive interaction

• Social robots and embodied agents for persuasive communication

• Personalized systems and user modeling for adaptive persuasion

• Persuasive design in XR, metaverse, and immersive environments

• Agency, autonomy, and ethics in adaptive persuasion

• Generative AI for personalized persuasive content

• Multimodal sensing and behavioral analytics for persuasion

• Applications in education, health, sustainability, and social well-being

By integrating psychological, computational, and design perspectives, this Research Topic seeks to advance the science and practice of persuasive technology toward more meaningful, emotionally intelligent, and responsible forms of human–AI interaction. The collection will serve as a platform for researchers and practitioners to share insights, methodologies, and innovations that define the future of persuasion in an increasingly intelligent and interconnected world.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Next-Generation Persuasive Technologies for Human–AI Interaction and Behavior Change