Chatbot Usability Scale in Chinese Users: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation Study

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Psychometrics
• Natural Language Processing

Background:

• Chatbot usability evaluation is limited, especially in non-Western regions.
• China is a major chatbot market, yet lacks a validated usability scale.
• The existing Chatbot Usability Scale (BUS-11) has strong psychometric properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• Translate and culturally adapt the BUS-11 for Chinese users.
• Validate the psychometric properties of the Chinese BUS-11.
• Provide a reliable tool for assessing chatbot usability in China.

Main Methods:

• Cross-cultural adaptation including forward-backward translation and expert review.
• Pilot testing for clarity and feasibility.
• A validation study with 214 participants evaluating 10 chatbot systems.

Main Results:

• The Chinese BUS-11 demonstrated excellent content validity (0.92) and internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.92).
• A clear 3-factor structure (Accessibility, Interaction Process Quality, Information Quality) was identified, explaining 56.1% of variance.
• The scale is concise, user-friendly, and psychometrically robust.

Conclusions:

• This study introduces the first validated Chinese version of the BUS-11.
• The validated scale enables reliable cross-cultural comparisons of chatbot usability.
• It supports research and practical design evaluation in human-computer interaction within Chinese contexts.