Chatbots Expand Marketing

Chatbots Expand Marketing

Chatbots are, literally, robots that chat (converse). They are automated response programs within messaging apps, programmed with artificial intelligence to answer common human queries. When combined with conversational interfaces like Siri on iPhone, Microsoft's Cortana, Google's Allo, and Alexa on Amazon Echo, chatbots can answer specific human questions and deliver content through purpose-driven interactions like weather bots, news bots, and scheduling bots.

In April 2016, chatbots became available on Facebook Messenger, and since then, over 30,000 chatbots have been developed.

There's a bot that lets you order Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte. There's a bot for ordering Domino's Pizza. There's even a bot for the vodka brand Absolut where chatting gets you a campaign code for a free cocktail at a nearby bar.

 

Domino's Pizza Bot.

Just say "pizza," and it displays the order screen for recommended menus.

On the platform of Kik, a messaging app popular with young Americans, bots have existed since 2015, with brand bots sending over 2 billion messages to date.
Google's new messaging app, Allo, incorporates a search bot that can convert questions into search keywords and provide answers.

Facebook Messenger chatbots already accept payments via PayPal and could potentially be used as part of the sales process, especially for existing customers.
In China, WeChat has offered payment services for a long time and is now an essential feature for doing business there.