Six Stages of Chatbot Acceptance

Which one are you at?

When it comes to any new technology — from cellphones to social media — there are always a few stepping stones involved in getting to know, use and love it.

Here are what we find to be the most common stages in accepting chatbots and AI technology.

Blissful ignorance.

Ah yes — the pre-curtain-lifting stage. You haven’t yet been acquainted with the concept of chatbots and artificial intelligence is some muffled, far-flung term that you still associate with the realm of sci-fi. The interesting thing is that many people in this stage are likely to have already been exposed to and even used the technology without even realising it. To their knowledge, that pop up window with that friendly ‘customer service agent’ asking if they can assist, was in fact a helpful human, stationed at a desk in an office somewhere. And, those ‘Recommended for you’ products were, well, who knows exactly how those computer programmers did that, but they did get it pretty spot on.

Fear — aka the ‘It’s the end of the world!’ stage.

With science fiction being our first reference to artificial intelligence, it’s no wonder that this stage exists. Skynet’s attempt to exterminate our species in the Terminator movies and HAL9000’s murderous revolt against the crew’s attempt to shut it down in Space Odyssey, have fuelled fear of our demise by an artificially intelligent race.

While some may brush these off as being nothing more than far-fetched figments of the imagination, science fiction’s uncanny tendency to predict the future tickles your fearful doubt as to whether it’s ever really, ‘just a story.’ (Enter dramatic music)

Aside from the sci-fi-induced fears, there’s also fear of the threat that artificial intelligence poses to your job. While the technology becomes more advanced, the question grows louder in your mind whether chatbots will just be colleagues or rather, fierce competitors in the workplace.

We humans have an exceptional talent for fearing that which we don’t fully understand.

Denial.

“Ok. Chatbots are a thing. But for how long? “

“Sure, they’re all novel now but do they really have longevity and isn’t it far too risky to implement this technology until some time way down the line when and if it’s a whole lot more advanced?”

“Who would want to engage with a chatbot instead of a human, anyway?”

“This isn’t for my business. We’ve been doing fine without chatbots up until now, and we’ll continue to do just fine without them in the future.”

The list continues.

It feels like just yesterday that a similar attitude applied to cellphones.

“I don’t need a cellphone. I have my beeper if anything’s urgent and I can make that call when I get to the office a bit later. “

Without a doubt, just like cellphones, one day we will look back at today’s chatbots and AI and chuckle at the comparison to the undoubtedly much more advanced versions of the technology, but there’s no denying how even that first flap-bearing brick, equipped with a 30cm aerial, changed our lives for the better.

Curiosity & Convincing

That boastful Brad at last week’s braai may have had some interesting points worth looking into regarding how his business is benefitting from its new HR chatbot. And, it has caught your attention that a couple of websites you’ve used have what you’ve heard described as a chatbot.

You decide to do a little research of your own. No harm in that.

You’re admittedly surprised by how many impressive skills chatbots have, even in their early stages of development — from internal operations, to customer service and driving customer engagement and sales.

You discover that thousands of businesses around the world are benefiting from using them. And not only the big familiar company names, but small businesses and entrepreneurs too.

You read that 57% of consumers are interested in chatbots for their instant nature (HubSpot, 2017) and that 40% of consumers don’t care whether a chatbot or a real human helps them, as long as they’re getting the help they need (HubSpot, 2017).

You’re also pleasantly surprised that, while chatbots have the ability to perform many tasks currently performed by humans, them stepping in to handle the mundane, repetitive work, frees up staff members to perform higher-quality tasks that require social and emotional intelligence.

Things start to go from scary to rather exciting.

Acceptance.

The stats and facts that were planted in the ‘Curiousity & Convincing’ stage have sprouted and are now in full bot-accepting bloom.

The evidence from your research exploration shows that these virtual agents have definitely earned their place in small and large businesses alike. And, that rather than giving humans the boot, they provide an opportunity for a formidable hybrid workforce that combines the abilities of both humans and non-humans for maximum productivity, profitability and job satisfaction. You’ve seen the light that chatbots are in fact here to help, not harm.

It’s not a far step from this to the next and final stage.

How did we live without this?!

The stats roll of your tongue like a chatbot aficianado. Your business’ chatbot has become a subject you purposefully work into dinner conversation. Not only is your enthusiasm off the charts, but you’re on a mission to convince those around you how chatbots are the best things since colour cell phone screens and having your mailbox in the palm of your hand. You and Brad also now have a lot more to talk about.

No matter what stage you’re currently in, Feersum Engine is here to answer any questions that can help you hop, skip and jump over the final step/s to questioning how you and your business ever did life without chatbots.