Chat bots are not new to the world of technology. You may even remember bots like Bonzai Buddy. However, their purpose and functions are changing. Bots are becoming a new form of virtual assistants to help interact with current and potential consumers.
For many marketers, chat bots will become the new customer service reps. Even with many chat bot success stories, there is still much left to be developed.
Bots can easily be misunderstood as annoying spam. They are limited to program restraints, which can result in users feeling frustrated if they are trying to go more in depth. Human nature is to crave human interaction and we greatly prefer non-computerized customer service experiences.
Chat bots often come off as robotic compared to the people they strive to emulate. Lastly, bots are capable of being manipulated and corrupted into something more dangerous, like Microsoft’s Twitter bot Tay. Cases like Tay’s are what cause skepticism of chat bots and call into question the future of bots when it comes to marketing a brand.
There is also the question of where to deploy the chat bot. Finding the right channel for the bot to maximize its use and purpose is key to a successful and positive user experience. For Facebook’s platform, the Messenger app is where chat bots work best. Marketers and brands via their bots can instantly communicate with users in chat form to streamline the relationship between human and chat bot. It’s not just the tech giants joining in on the chat bot conversation. Taco Bell’s TacoBot is gaining popularity for its simplicity in placing orders and giving menu recommendations. Even with all this success, it doesn’t necessarily mean we love talking to bots or want to use them all the time. Human connections and conversations are critical in creating a positive user experience.
And according to TechCrunch’s Natasha Lomas, “unless or until a general AI can be developed that is, in mental and emotional terms, indistinguishable from human intelligence, [why] would we want to be chatted up by artificial algorithms?”
Chat bots may not be for every marketer or brand. While bots function to provide deep context, quick resolution of struggle and need, and support the way consumers like to interact, they are not perfect. The world of chat bots has room for error and experimentation. As bots progress and improve, we as marketers and consumers gain the power to mold the bot into what is most useful and beneficial.
That is the beauty of the bot.
