Do you know Siri? And Cortana? Have you used Google Now? If your answer is yes to at least one of these questions, then you are already familiar with artificial intelligence, specifically with “virtual assistants”, more technically called Chatbots.
What is a chatbot?
Before knowing what a chatbot is, you have to know what a bot is. A bot is artificial intelligence software whose purpose is to carry out a series of tasks independently, without any type of human management. These are usually simple tasks like reserving hotel rooms or a table at a restaurant.
So a chatbot is assigned a task, but this is to interact with users through audio and text messages. That is, its function is to maintain a conversation with a person who requests some type of information and provide it to them. In other words, the chatbot is presented as the new customer service assistant.
Brands are betting on artificial intelligence
The North American agency Wunderman states that by 2020, around 90% of consumer contact with companies would be through a chatbot. Furthermore, Microsoft warns that, in that same year, 85% of brands will have to include artificial intelligence in their activity, otherwise, they will be less competitive in the market.
However, until now, the most frequent use that is being given to these intelligent software is for customer service. From automatic answering machines on helplines of any company (especially telephone operators) to “workers” who establish a real-time chat with a user through the brand’s website.
In messaging applications chatbots have become representatives of the company. They are even capable of making jokes and maintaining simple conversations. The goal is for you to feel that the brand is like a friend, they talk to the user and they receive the information they need to know immediately.
And if the star medium of interaction between the brand and the consumer is social networks, why not include a chatbot in them? Facebook is the most powerful social network today and marketing professionals are aware of it. For this reason, Facebook Messenger could be established as a perfect interaction channel between companies and users. In this way, the task of contacting customers to generate direct sales through chat will be made easier. And of course, chatbots must evolve and be able to send images and files with product descriptions and, in addition, a purchase can be made directly from the conversation thread.
Chatbots provide the customer with the data they request. But it may also be able to storage information. It is important to know which are the most repeated questions among your clients to correct possible errors. And also to know the tastes of your audience. At the end of the day, all communication strategies are aimed at improving business activity. Having the customer happy helps a lot.
Although there will always be people who use their ingenuity to help others, like Joshua Browder, creator of the first lawyer chatbot, capable of providing free legal assistance. Now it uses this technology to help refugees find asylum.
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