Tag: chatbot

Mall Of America And Nordstrom Launch Chatbots To Better Serve Holiday Shoppers

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Retailers continue to explore new customer experiences powered by chatbots as two more prominent U.S. retailers launched their respective bot services. Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping center located just south of Minneapolis, worked with IBM to leverage Watson’s cognitive computing power to develop a chatbot service that can help visitors navigate the sprawling shopping center and suggest routes and activities according to user input on how much time they have and what they are looking for. The chatbot is accessible via MoA’s Facebook Page as well as via a mobile web browser.

Similarly, Nordstrom launched its first chatbot on the Facebook Messenger and Kik on Monday to help holiday shoppers pick out gift items. The bot will start by asking a series of questions about who they are shopping for and then suggests appropriate gifts from Nordstrom’s online store accordingly. Nordstrom says the chatbot will available to consumers up until December 24.

What Brands Should Do
This is the latest example in retailers exploring chatbots’ potential in conversational ecommerce. Earlier this week, Sam’s Club also launched a “gift genie” chatbot that aims to help shoppers select holiday gifts. The rise of conversational commerce points to changing consumer behavior on mobile and a shift in brand-customer interaction.  According to a recent research from DigitasLBi and Harris Poll, more than a third of U.S shoppers surveyed said they’d be willing to make a purchase through a chatbot and spend as much as $55.80 on each order. As more brands start to realize the vast potential of chatbots, it is imperative that they find the right partner to work with to develop effective conversational customer experiences.

How We Can Help
The Lab has extensive experience in building branded chatbots to reach consumers on conversational interfaces. So much so that we’ve built a dedicated conversational practice called Dialogue. The NiroBot we built in collaboration with Ansible for Kia is a good example of how Dialogue can help brands build a chatbot experience supercharged by our stack of technology partners with best-in-class solutions and an insights engine that extracts business intelligence from conversational data.

If you’d like to learn more about how to effectively reach consumers on messaging apps and other conversational interfaces, or to leverage the Lab’s expertise to take on related client and learning opportunities within the IPG Mediabrands, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VentureBeat & Business Insider

Sam’s Club Launches “Gift Genie” Chatbot On Facebook Messenger

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Members-only retail chain Sam’s Club launched its first Facebook Messenger bot today to make it easier for customers to find the right gifts for family and  friends. Dubbed “gift genie,” the bot is created by Rockfish Interactive and Conversable and uses a combination of both natural language conversational exploration and random gift idea generation to help Sam’s Club shoppers quickly find suitable gifts by categories.

What Brands Should Do
This is the latest example in brands exploring chatbots’ potential in conversational ecommerce. Previously, eBay and TGI Fridays launched their respective Messenger bots to sell directly on the messaging app whereas fashion brands such as Burberry have used Messenger to launch new product lines. The rise of conversational commerce points to changing consumer behavior on mobile and a shift in brand-customer interaction. Therefore, other brands should take note and start developing a strategy for conversational commerce.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about reaching consumers on mobile messaging apps and building branded chatbots. The new NiroBot we build in collaboration with Ansible for Kia delivers comprehensive product information about the all-new Niro model via friendly chats. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Amazon Launches Bot Framework Lex To Extend Deep Learning To Developers

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today at its re:Invent developer event, Amazon announced a series of updates to its  Amazon Web Services (AWS), the biggest public cloud infrastructure provider at the moment. Most notably, the Seattle-based company also introduced Amazon Lex, a bot framework akin to the one Microsoft debuted earlier this year, to extend the deep learning technologies that power Alexa to developers. With Lex’s deep learning functionalities of automatic speech recognition (ASR) and natural language understanding (NLU),  brands can work with developers to build sophisticated conversational interfaces into any application using voice and text.

What Brands Should Do
What truly sets Amazon Lex apart from the existing bot-building frameworks is that it allows developers to tap into the deep learning technologies powering Alexa, Amazon’s leading voice-based personal assistant service. The ecommerce giant has reportedly sold more than 5 million Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers since launch, and as the company continues to make strong pushes for its hardware products, more and more mainstream consumers will soon become reachable via Alexa. By leveraging Lex, brands will be able to build advanced applications with highly engaging user experiences and lifelike conversational interactions.

The Lab has extensive experience with building chatbots and Alexa skills for brands. The new Messenger bot we build in collaboration with Ansible for Kia delivers comprehensive product information about the all-new Niro model via friendly chats. We are very excited to explore the new possibilities that Amazon Lex is set to unleash and work with our clients to navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more about this or have a client opportunity, please reach out to our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Ansible And IPG Media Lab Launch NiroBot On Messenger To Introduce New Kia Model

Posted on by Lab Team

Kia Motors America (KMA) on Thursday launched NiroBot, a chatbot for Facebook Messenger, to deliver instant access to comprehensive product information about the all-new 2017 Niro hybrid utility vehicle, making it among the first automotive brands in the U.S. to utilize Facebook Messenger.

Developed and implemented by Ansible, KMA’s agency partner, in collaboration with IPG Media Lab, the NiroBot aims to introduce consumers to the new model through automated, engaging conversations. You can start chatting with the NiroBot yourself to get an hands-on experience with this next-gen customer engagement tool by clicking here.

The NiroBot is packed with helpful features and eye-catching visual designs, including full-screen galleries, guided vehicle discovery, rich product specification menus, deep linking to kia.com, expansive technical information regarding the vehicle, step-by-step tutorials, and test drive scheduling calendars on a user-friendly interface. Additionally, the NiroBot can connect the user to a live Kia representative at any time during the chat.

convos-screenshot

Besides its comprehensive product-related functions, the NiroBot also comes with a charming personality that is designed to optimize the chat experience. It can tell jokes, offer witty answers to some driving-related questions, and greet customers with various phrases depending on the time of the day. These touches of personality truly elevate the experience and make the NiroBot fun to chat with.

Facebook Messenger is used by more than one billion consumers worldwide monthly, and those accessing the NiroBot for Messenger will benefit from comprehensive product information, multimedia product overviews and the ability to schedule a test drive of the first Kia vehicle to make use of an all-new, dedicated eco-car platform.

As consumer habits shifts, more and more customers are opting to communicate with brands on social and chat apps. Therefore, it is imperative that brands follow their audiences and look into ways to connect with them on those messaging platforms.

The Media Lab and Ansible have considerable experience with building chatbots and working with brands to apply conversational experiences to marketing. The One Direction fan experience The Lab developed for Sony Music on messaging app Kik earned a Smarties Award from the Mobile Marketing Association.

Please get in touch with the Lab’s Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) or Ansible’s Account Director Merrell Middleton ([email protected]) if you’d like more information or have a client opportunity.

 

Source: PressWire

Facebook Launches Analytics Tool For Messenger Bots

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Facebook is introducing a first-party analytics tool for bots within its Facebook Analytics for Apps dashboard to help developers and brands better track the performance of their Messenger chatbots. The new analytic tool will provide detailed information about user interactions with the bots, such as the number of messages sent and received, the number of blocked messages, and the number of users who engage with a bot but are later transferred to a human agent. In addition, Facebook is also opening its developer program FbStart to bot developers to give them access to tools like Facebook ads credits and other tools from third-party partners such as Dropbox or Stripe for their bot campaigns.

What Brands Should Do
In combination with News Feed ads for bots that became available last week, this new analytics tool allows brands making Messenger bots to track and target users based on demographic metrics and locations. With over 34,000 developers having made Messenger bots since the platform launched in April, it is imperative that brands should leverage the available Messenger tools to effectively reach their desired audience and track user activities to optimize their bots.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Facebook Updates Messenger Platform To Help Brands Drive Conversations

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Facebook has updated its Messenger platform to add a few useful tools to help developers and brands reach users and drive conversations on its messaging app. To begin with, the social network is rolling out sponsored messages to all advertisers. Facebook has been testing this feature, which allows businesses to re-engage users who have an existing conversation with them on Messenger, with select brands since June. Developers can now also advertise their bots with News Feed ads that directly send people to Messenger to start a conversation.

In addition, a new list and checkbox plugin provides developers with an alternative to Messenger’s typical horizontal carousel layout, which should be useful for surfacing sign-up forms and lists of retail items. The company also confirmed that it continues to roll out mobile payment capability for chatbots in a closed beta.

What Brands Should Do
With these additions, Facebook is making it easier for brands and developers to create more functional chatbots and reach more users. With 1 billion people now checking Facebook only on mobile, it is important for brands to leverage the available Messenger tools to effectively reach the massive mobile audience on Facebook.  

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Facebook for Developer

American Express Creates Slack Bot For Buying Concert Tickets

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
American Express is making it easier for its cardholders to find and purchase concert tickets within popular workplace communication platform Slack. Working with creative agency B-Reel, AmEx created a Slack bot that can guide users through the process with event data from Ticketmaster and, once an order is confirmed, use their on-file AmEx credit card information to complete the purchase. The bot also allows users to split the bill simply by tagging other Slack team members in their answers. The company debuted the prototype at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival on Tuesday, with plans to roll it out for public testing within the coming months.

What Brands Should Do
Slack currently has over 4 million daily active users, which represents a sizeable professional audience segment that brands can reach via chatbots. Previously, Kayak showcased a slack bot prototype to help customers book plane tickets via natural-language messages. This AmEx bot serves as a good example for brands looking to develop their own bots as it provides customers with real utility value and offers a seamless user experience thanks to the payment integration.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Co.Create

Twitter To Speed Up Customer Service By Offering Brands Chatbots

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Twitter continues to make its platform more brand-friendly as it launches a chatbot service in Direct Messages that brands can use to speed up their customer service. The new feature allows brands to partner with nearly a dozen third-party services to build automated message systems specific to each brand, such as Welcome Messages and Quick Replies, to generate timely responses to inquiries and prompts from customers. Brands such as Pizza Hut, Spotify, Tesco, and Airbnb are among the first to try out this new product.

What Brands Should Do
Twitter has been steadily adding customer service tools to its platform, and this introduction of chatbot services is a natural step for Twitter as it builds out its customer support tools to appeal to the growing needs of brands and their customers. A recent study by Twilio found that most consumers now prefer to use messaging to interact with businesses rather than calling. As Twitter continues to make its platform more brand-friendly with new messaging features, we expect to see more brands utilize the tools to provide better customer service.

To learn more about how brands can reach and engage with customers via conversational interfaces such as messaging apps, check out the first part of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdWeek

Header image courtesy of Twitter Advertising

Bank Of America Is Building A Personal Finance Assistant

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Bank of America is reportedly working on a Siri-like digital financial adviser named Erica for its mobile apps that will help customers better manage their personal finances. With this AI-powered service, people will be able to communicate with Erica via text or voice 24/7 to get assistance with processing transactions. Erica will also monitor spending patterns and alert customers when they are about to go into overdraft, as well as offer advice on how to improve their credit score and budgeting. Bank of America is aiming to release Erica by the end of 2017.

What Brands Should Do
This is the latest example of how conversation-based assistant services may transform customer experiences in banking. In August, Singaporean bank DBS launched a chatbot to let customers handle basic banking tasks via text. What sets Erica apart from DBS Bank’s chatbot, however, is that the former appears to be more powerful in its capabilities, as it will be able to monitor banking and spending activities and use machine learning to offer timely, personalized financial advice.

As more brands embrace digital assistants and chatbots in order to better serve their customers, brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve should start working with developers to figure out how conversational interfaces may improve the customer experience. For additional information on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Engadget

eBay Dips Toe Into Conversational Commerce With Messenger Bot

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Following the addition of a visual search engine to its site, eBay continues to modernize its customer experience as it launches personalized shopping assistant “ShopBot” into beta on Facebook Messenger. According to eBay, the chabot is powered by contextual understanding and predictive modeling based on eBay’s massive inventory. Users can text, talk, or send an image to let ShopBot know what they are looking for, and ShopBot will ask questions to narrow the shopping intent and make recommendations accordingly.

What Brands Should Do
With this launch, eBay joins the growing list of brands experimenting with chatbots to optimize customer experiences. The rise of conversational commerce points to changing consumer behavior on mobile and a shift in brand-customer interaction. A recent study found that most consumers now prefer to use messaging to interact with businesses rather than calling. Therefore, brands, especially retailers, should take note and develop a strategy for conversational commerce.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building consumer-facing chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: eBay

 

Header image is a promotional image courtesy of eBay