Chatbots: Are they better without the chat?

The title of Kik CEO Ted Livingston’s recent Medium post, discussing the relative failure of early brand attempts at chatbots, says it all.

With so many marketers parroting on about customer experience, we may have temporarily lost sight of what users really value – speed and convenience. To borrow a phrase, ‘don’t make me think.’

Kik is a bot platform, which obviously makes Livingston best placed to make an authoritative assertion on the subject.

Here, he adds some more context to the idea of conversation as a red herring:

“I believe we’ll look back on the early emphasis on ‘conversational commerce’ as a mistake. Read more

The Big, Fat Myth About Bots

The hype around bots seemed to peak earlier this year, when Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella said that bots would be as big as apps. Many technology experts have since predicted that the era of apps is over and the golden age of bots is upon us. But the Silicon Valley hype cycle might be getting ahead of itself.

Ted Livingston, the founder of popular chat app Kik, suggests the industry has become disillusioned with bots recently because our expectations about being able to chat to them, as we would with another human, are way too high. Read more

Apps to evolve into Chatbots

In Chatbots lie the tech future after apps. This personalised conversational interface can single-handedly perform the jobs of many apps on smart phone. Read more

What does artificial intelligence mean for the creative mind?

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have huge potential to drive a new generation of creative brand experiences. They are at the forefront of a powerful shift that will bring brands closer to consumer expectations, passions and emotions. Assistive and smart technologies are catching up and we’re already facing a new world of possibilities. Read more

White House bot lets Americans FB message Obama

The White House on Wednesday launched a Facebook Messenger bot that will allow the public to communicate with President Obama and the administration.

“Face-to-face time is a little harder to come by these days, but technology makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to send a message to the President and his Administration,” Jason Goldman, the White House’s chief digital officer, wrote in a blog post.

“The White House’s Messenger bot, a first of its kind for any government the world over, will make it as easy as messaging your closest friends.”

Bots in Facebook Messenger, a standalone product with more than a billion users worldwide, send automated responses to users. They have been employed by several news organizations and brands hoping to form a more intimate bond with their audiences. Read more

How chatbots will help local business across the world

Chatbots are popping up everywhere lately.

You have most likely seen them on Facebook Messenger, maybe even Skype or Kik.

Now, the big brands are starting to leverage chatbots to promote their products. For example, McDonald’s has been using a Kik chatbot to interact with its fans. You can ask the McDonald’s chatbot about the latest promotion in your area, prices of the items on their menus, and much more.

A conversation between customers and businesses, regardless of chatbots, is becoming more common. According to a recent survey carried out by Facebook IQ, 63 percent of consumers are using messaging apps (in this case, Facebook Messenger) to contact companies, find information, and buy products. Read more

What The Tech? Chatbots

They can help fix your car, save you money, even save you a trip to the doctor. They’re called ‘chatbots’, and you can use them right now in Facebook.

Want someone to search and find coupons? Pennycat, will comb the internet looking for discount codes. You simply send pennycat a facebook message with where you’re shopping. I say “Macy’s” and the Pennycat bot searched for and found discount codes that will save me money on coffee makers, shipping and other items at checkout. Read more

From robot uprisings to machine learning and smart conversations – what’s all the fuss about chatbots?

Move aside trusted app, the tech industry has a new technological darling – one which courts the public eye with attention-grabbing headlines about robot uprisings, revolution and the death of the human workforce.  Despite its small lexical size, this new darling has already taken on the grunt work of automation and now stands to revolutionise customer engagement, positioning itself as the likely backbone of the much anticipated ‘Machine Age’. Read more

5 tips for building a chatbot that’s actually useful

ince the launch of the Facebook Messenger API, developers have flocked to chatbot development. Developers are now offering chatbot development services and creating chatbot builders. At Botsify, I have been working onchatbot development for more than six months. Here are a few issues, based on my observations, that all developers should look out for. Read more

WHY KIK AND FACEBOOK ARE FIGHTING OVER BOTS LIKE CHATTY MCCHATFACE WHILE INVESTORS WATCH

A lot has changed in the messaging space since Jonathan Keebler and Matt McCausland launched of their anonymous chat service Sam:) last September. For one, chat activity has exploded, with the top four messaging apps surpassing the top four social networks in monthly active users. Secondly, those messaging apps have opened up their platform to chat bots, with Canada’s own Kik leading the way, exchanging over 1.8 billion messages with 20,000 different chat bots. Read more