The Chat Bot Revolution: A Shift from Social Networking to Instant Messaging Applications

We are at the brink of a Chat Bot revolution on instant messaging applications. As downloads for applications on social networks go down, brands are choosing to come to the place where the user spends most time, in the safety of their favourite instant messaging applications.

As countless brands have taken the plunge to introduce Chat Bots to automate the conversation with their audience it is quite clear that Bots are here to stay. As Facebook revealed in July the presence of over 11,000 bots on Facebook Messenger and counting, bots have been taking the world by the storm.Whether it is booking a dinner table or scheduling an appointment with a doctor, customers can now carry out a spectrum of online transactions within the comfort zone of their Instant Messaging Applications.

According to a study by Business Insider, Messaging applications have now surpassed social networks in terms of usage. This confirms the notion that brands must actively adopt the idea of connecting with its customers and potential users on Instant Messaging Applications instead of pushing more stand-alone applications of social networks. An important aspect of the new revolution of conversational user interfaces is the adoption of a human like persona for the bot. Whether it’s the sweet talking Siri or Cortana, bots now act as a personal virtual assistant with human like qualities which makes the experience of interacting with the bot more enriching rather than monotone or without emotion.

This also provides the brand much room for injecting their brand’s personality in the bot. The bot thus acts as a spokesperson for the brand managing countless interactions at the same time with ease and eliminates human errors. With a proper and extensive strategy, bots can not only automate daily tasks for the brand but will be able to establish and build a lasting relationship with your customers.