Chatbots Have Huge Marketing Potential, Report Finds
The immense volume of users who communicate through messaging apps represents a valuable feature for chatbots geared towards services and support with virtually no barrier to entry, a recent study from the User Experience Strategies (UXS) service at Strategy Analytics found.
But, despite being more engaging and efficient than traditional methods of communication, discoverability, usability, and security are critical for widespread chatbot adoption, the report indicated.
"The sheer volume of possible users across free platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WeChat, makes chatbots a potentially lucrative means for users to engage with brands and services conversationally. But users do not gravitate towards messaging platforms because of chatbots. Tey use whatever their friends/relatives are using. As a result, messaging chatbots need to provide a meaningful, distinct, and compelling service to remain relevant," said Mathew Alton, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics and report co-author, in a statement.
Other key report findings include the following:
- Conversational user interfacess, in the initial form of chatbots, are poised to shape the way users communicate with businesses, their smart homes, and soon, connected devices.
- Conversations with chatbots can be open-ended; there is no defined protocol that can introduce unpredictability.
- As chatbots become more successful in understanding users by leveraging artificial intelligence, they will require more personal information, which can raise privacy concerns.
"Widely used platforms offer a range of discoverability options beyond pushing information at the user. Various forms of marketing can be leveraged to drive users to chatbots," said Chris Dodge, associate director of Strategy Analytics and report co-author, in a statement. "By allowing users to reach out to content instead of pushing content directly at them, chatbots also have the potential to be a more trustworthy form of marketing."