Hello, there! Welcome to VoiceFirst Weekly.
Three or four years ago chatbots were set to be the Next Big Thing. It hasn’t been so, and according to a recent report by VentureBeat, tendency is moving towards the side of rule based chatbots, those that are build on a set of predefined rules, also referred as dumb as opposed of those that depend on machine learning. The VentureBeat article highlighted how chatbots for a lot of companies have failed to provide the returns expected. Other evidence is how chatbot platform providers like Amazon are basing their chatbot platform in this rule-based model that’s easier to implement and easier to use.
Does that means that chatbots are dead? Certainly not. Let’s say that was chatbot 1.0 wave. And to all of the disappointment chatbot progress so far might have bring: As Bill Gates puts it, We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.
The current state of chatbots have proved they are unable to handle specialized queries requiring knowledge outside the functional domain. The next wave of chatbots is going to be enhancing the capabilities to create a completely custom, differentiated experience by combining knowledge across relevant segments and provide better insights. According to PWC, this will give rise to a new level of conversational [banking] where results are delivered instantly through real- time conversation.
What will be the 3 main points driving the next wave for chatbots?
Number 1. Drive customer loyalty and brand awareness. When designed right, chatbots can add emotional power to the interaction with the user, enhancing captivation and loyalty. As sentiment analysis keeps improving, the next chatbots will be able to leverage the sentiment of the user to provide the best solutions for the context and the sentiment the user is in when interacting.
Number 2. Create a cognitive institution
A chatbot can be designed to respond to all kinds of requests and queries. It can become the insights database driving decision making with data based analytics for your company.
And number 3. Integration with present and future technologies
Having reached certain level of maturity, chatbots can now look at more integrations to leverage innovative technologies. Leading to a new set of use cases for chatbots that are not being considered today. ManyChat CEO has predicted that chatbots will transition from the early adopter stage into the beginning of early majority in 2018 and more than 1 million bots will be created on Facebook Messenger.
To the future of jobs to be done and a master assistant we seem to be moving, bots will not just interact with customers and human agents but, increasingly, with other bots in order to get tasks done.
Chatbots are leaving their infancy to enter a more mature stage in the next 5 years.
The links for the resources mentioned in this episode will be available at voicefirstweekly.com/flashbriefing/75
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