5 examples of how chatbots are driving innovative customer experiences

Advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence have allowed for the development of computer programs that can process data from, and then interact with, humans in entirely new ways, and the applications of the kinds of tech that allow for computer interaction that more and more closely resembles actual human interaction are limitless.

In this article, we discuss five very specific and different innovative marketing use-cases for chatbots – messaging or chat applications that run on the power of advanced AI.

Online retailers: Better product recommendations

Online product recommendation engines have been around for eternity but the advent of chatbots has infused a new level of sophistication into visitors’ online shopping experience. Traditional recommendation engines are largely based on wisdom of crowd principles that show recommendations based on browsing patterns of other visitors. These technologies come with a fair amount of implementation complexity. For example, in order to reap the full benefits of traditional recommendation engines, websites have to implement complex website structures and dynamic navigations that all increase ecommerce implementation complexity. Using chatbots on the other hand allows retailers to simply suggest product links rather than implement advanced navigation controls. Similarly, chatbots have the advantage of knowing specific user context at the time of interaction. This may be derived through historical data but comes primarily through user conversation. This allows for far more effective recommendations as compared to alternative technologies that try to second guess current context based on purely past data. However, the single biggest advantage that bots have over automated engines is interactivity and bi-directional communication capabilities that provide a personal touch to online shopping.

Online retailers: Cross-selling products and services

Messaging services such as WhatsApp and chat platforms such as Slack cater to millions of users on a daily basis. Innovative chatbots developed  by everyone from Uber to Pizza Hut can now be integrated with these services, so that at the mention of specific keywords such as ‘lunch’, ‘meeting’, or ‘gift’, users will receive chatbot responses asking the user whether or not they would like the bot to take care of anything such as lunch reservations or online orders.

Because the first (or just the most easily) available options are often the ones that are eventually chosen, it pays to be able to literally be on the fingertips of users whenever the opportunity for a sale or a deal arises. Chatbots can help close the gap between a customer need arising and the time at which a purchase order is actually executed.

Media sites: Personalized news feeds

Publishers such as CNN.com can exponentially improve visitor engagement through intelligent application of chatbots. Whether it is news or information on a particular topic or location, or the scores of a specific sports team, chatbots can be used in conversations with users based on location, browsing history, or selected interests.

For example, there is an NBA chatbot that can provide answers to user queries regarding game scores, players, and stats. Similarly, there are weather bots that can provide weather info and can even help with finding, for example, alternate routes to work, or pulling up weather headlines, all in response to simple message requests.

Entertainment: Amplifying engagement and interest

Disney released a chatbot modeled after Office Judy Hopps, the police rabbit in the hit animated movie Zootopia. Visitor’s to Disney’s Facebook page could speak with Officer Hopps and help her solve cases. Some visitors even returned time and again to solve new cases, and users spent between 8 and 10 minutes interacting with the AI program.

In similar fashion, fans of Star Wars can go to the movie’s official page and sign up as either good or evil characters from their favorite installment of the franchise, and interact with other characters from the movie that are actually chatbots designed to promote the next release or simply find out about the passions and interests of fans.

In both examples, the chabots not only offer ways to amplify fan engagement and interest, but they also spark interest in neutral moviegoers, and help in data generation and can help discover insights into which characters are the most popular, what kinds of things pique the interests of fans, and of course how and where users are looking for movies and viewing promotional material.

Interaction automation on social networks

Likes, shares, tweets, retweets, views, subscribers, followers, and fans are all crucial data points for social content, and all of these numbers can be improved by using tailored chatbot responses to address customer concerns, messages, tweets, or other posts in specific ways. Chatbots can even post tailored content to the likes of Facebook and Twitter in response to specific trending news topics, that too with specific hashtags, and at specific times of the day. This means you can interact with as many people as possible, even on slow days, amplifying your reach, your readers, and your overall audience.

Summary

Fully sentient computer systems still only exist in books and movies in the shape of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey or Skynet from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, chatbots in their current form are really pushing the envelope into unchartered territory. Marketing and IT leaders who are best able to leverage this tech to strengthen their brands will inevitably develop long lasting competitive advantage.

A ‘use-case’ themed article designed to project domain authority in building bespoke chatbot applications across verticals and functional groups.

An Enterprise software development company building bespoke marketing applications for customers throughout Europe.