Hello, readers. Let’s get straight to the point. BIM! What are chatbots in marketing?
Programming a chatbot may seem to be the preserve of an elite group of professionals, confined to technical support. And yet,“conversational agents“, as the boring people say, are proving surprisingly effective in areas where they are least expected. And with good reason: while intelligent chatbots are gradually beginning to replace us in many tasks, some people seem reluctant to see them take the place of so-called relationship professions.
A process already in action
First of all, it might be naive to think that chatbots are mainly used by after-sales service providers. In mobile telephony with Orange, internet provider with Free (Eva), digital platform with OVH. Many companies selling products are opting for an initial after-sales service with chatbot. Why? Simply to save time. But can we classify these chatbots as intelligent? Not really, but it was just the beginning of what could be described as a revolution to come. Conversational agents are set to revolutionize marketing. That’s all there is to it.
While this may sound scary, there’s no need to worry about a simple after-sales chatbot. The more time passes, the more chatbots will no longer be defined by users as such. Does confusing AIs with humans at the conversational level sound familiar? The Turing test is exactly that. An AI is considered to have passed the Turing test when a human is unable to determine whether it is an AI or a human behind the keyboard. HAL 9000 you said?
Let’s get back to marketing, shall we? The first sign of corporate interest in chatbots, which follows the trend of the AI craze, is evolution. While after-sales chatbots have been around for a while, the last two years have seen the “massive” appearance of pre-sales chatbots, which operate before the customer buys. Once again, e-commerce sites regularly feature a chatbox, usually with a name. By extension, many start-ups and large companies are turning to chatbots. The latest craze is the smartphone.
Let me explain: have you ever noticed how many banks or of insurance company with a beautiful logo derived from the image of a message. Hello Bank by BNP, Fortuneo, Alan etc… All its companies have moved away from Customer / Sales to Customer / Chatbot / Supervisor exchanges. Initially, the user exchanges with the AI, and if a question is not understood, the supervisor takes over. Why? It saves an enormous amount of time, and paradoxically, you feel closer to the person you’re talking to through the application. In fact, where we imagine the banker as an adversary, we tend to place the personified chatbot as an ally.
And now it’s a real marketing argument. Now let’s see what can be done.
What professions are affected by chatbots?
“Concerned”, not “replaced”. There’s no need to think of bots, or even AI or robots, as entities that have come to take away your jobs. There will always be a need for a supervisor. And why not imagine a collaboration?
Imagine you’re in charge of recruiting for a position in a start-up company. Why not subject candidates to a preliminary interview with a chatbot? You’re a fashion blogger and your community is asking you questions. the same questions via your Facebook. Why not create a Messenger bot to answer recurring questions, all with your personality in the answers. These cases are already possible, and even rather easy to access. Like many companies, they help you stand out from the crowd and give your company a modern image. Soon it will be practically mandatory. Why not be one of the pioneers? It’s already possible to create your own Messenger bot pretty quickly, without necessarily being a super-good developer.
Last but not least, chatbots are likely to take over the leisure industry. Netflix proposals, for example? Twitch moderation? Pure conversation with Discord and its bots?
These indications are general and each case must be treated individually. If the subject interests you, you can contact us to discuss what would best suit your project and needs. As for me, I’ll see you next time, and hope to see you on this site!
