Smartera
As Our Messaging Habits Grow Stronger, Chatbots Are Gaining Ground
The possibility that WhatsApp might share our data with its parent company, Facebook, has suddenly taken center stage in the national conversation. In fact, those who have been closely following the industry for some time know that Facebook acquired WhatsApp not so much with the goal of selling more and more effective ads, but rather because it recognized the strong influence of messaging culture among younger generations and sought to gain a foothold in that space.
Even before Facebook acquired WhatsApp, the number of users in Asia and many other regions who were conducting their daily business through messaging apps had already reached staggering levels. So much so that at conferences, people were sharing stories of how they used WeChat in China and LINE in Japan to book doctor’s appointments, buy shoes, and access banking services—with the consensus being that “the future lies in messaging.” A key reason for this is the significant screen-based habits of the under-30 generation and, unfortunately, the decline in face-to-face social interaction. In fact, “effective phone sales” training in the U.S. has regained popularity—though not to the same extent as its golden age in the 70s and 80s! This is because a significant portion of young people report feeling stressed and anxious when they have to speak with someone over the phone. As a result, courses on effective phone communication are once again being mandated as mandatory training for employees at many organizations.
In fact, many mobile phone carriers are significantly reducing talk time in plans targeted at young people, as demand is very low. Texting is the new norm!
It is estimated that the use of chatbots could reduce customer communication costs by up to 30% and save $8 billion worldwide in 2022.
In an age where written communication is becoming increasingly prevalent—and where face-to-face interaction has become less frequent due to the pandemic—we now manage and request far more services through text, messaging, and chat. Moreover, work in this field has been underway for quite some time. In our country, while we might think that “everything digital exploded in the 2010s,” for example, the first AI-powered chat software—Eliza—was tested at MIT’s AI laboratories as early as 1964–66, even before the Internet existed.
Eliza was a robot software that provided responses tailored to your requests and questions. We refer to these robot software programs in the chat space simply as “chatbots,” and it is estimated that there are at least 300,000 chatbots currently integrated with the Facebook platform alone. Moreover, this number is actually quite small when compared to the total number of business pages on Facebook!
The number of software companies prioritizing the development of effective chatbots is growing, as usage is expected to maintain this strong upward trend in the coming years.
Messaging-based communication is gaining importance not only with external customers but also with internal customers—that is, the company’s employees—as well as suppliers, business partners, and dealers. Moreover, it’s not accurate to say this trend is limited to specific industries, as research reveals some interesting findings;
-In the U.S., approximately 69% of people have indicated that when they want to submit a request via phone, they would prefer to communicate their issues through a chat program rather than opening a ticket through the shopping app of the company they are a customer of,
-“The percentage of people who say, ‘I don’t hesitate to enter sensitive information about my shopping details and customer data into a chatbot,’ has exceeded 60%,
–It is estimated that using chatbots could reduce customer communication costs by up to 30% and save $8 billion worldwide in 2022.
These trends should not come as a surprise, as we estimate that 5 billion people worldwide use chat programs—including the popular messaging apps in Asia. Research showing that 37% of people are open to seeking support from a chatbot—even in emergency situations—despite knowing there is no human on the other end indicates that all companies facing high internal and external customer demand should now consider investing in chatbots. Moreover, it is not just those under 30 but also more experienced individuals who report being satisfied with chatbots’ ability to reduce human errors and provide more precise answers.
Particularly in Western countries, the growing use of voice assistants suggests that combining chatbots with voice assistants will open up entirely new possibilities for applications, cost savings, and increased efficiency. The pandemic has convinced businesses that online messaging apps and chatbots are essential for improving both business operations and the customer experience. This trend is likely to continue and grow in the coming period.