Chatbots
Chatbots are not new. SmarterChild, a chatbot on old messenger platforms MSN and AOL, was able to provide stock quotes, movie times, the weather, and even play hangman 15 years ago. Even older than this, ELIZA was an early chatbot developed in the 1960s that could simulated conversation based on pattern matching. However, they are quickly gaining popularity in present times for a few reasons.
Firstly, consumers are using fewer apps – of the typically ten apps consumers use in a day, eight of these are owned by either Facebook or Google.1 Secondly, the apps that consumers are using are messenger apps – the use of messaging apps exceeded the use of social media apps in late 2015.2 And finally, consumers want to talk to businesses – 54% of consumers said they were more likely to shop with a business that they connect with via chat.3
So which businesses are chatting with consumers?
A recent example of a chatbot was LEGO’s Ralph – a bot released during the 2017 Christmas shopping period to help shoppers find the perfect LEGO gift. Shoppers were asked a range of questions – including age, budget, and even personality – about the gift recipient, allowing Ralph to provide a range of appealing suggestions. As a result, LEGO had a 3.4 times higher return on ad spend for click-to-Messenger ads compared to ads that directed to the LEGO website. Additionally, the cost per purchase was 71% lower through the Messenger bot and purchases made from the click-to-Messenger ads were 1.9 times higher.4
Another example is Jetstar’s Virtual Assistant – Jess – who was introduced in 2013 as part of the brand’s website. However, she was recently adapted to Messenger in 2018, becoming the first point of contact for customers affected by the Mount Agung eruption in Indonesia. Uncommon events aside, Jess engages in over 250,000 conversations per month, reducing Jetstar’s response time from 17 hours to zero minutes. Notably, Jess has also achieved first contact resolution of 73% and is considered a leader in this space as no other airlines have launched a Messenger bot in multiple counties across Facebook messenger.5
The future of customer service?
The chatbot market is expected to be worth $1.23 billion by 2025.6 It is predicted that 50% of businesses will spend more on chatbot development over mobile apps by 2021.7 Chatbots are only going to grow in popularity, so businesses need to ensure they have the basics down to ensure a smooth experience for customers.