Chatbots: Technology’s next gold rush

The rise of bots isn’t something new: It’s been happening for quite some time now, and it is pretty clear why. People want to have things automated so that every time they want to order a pizza, they wouldn’t need to download the app and learn the UI. Now you just need to text or tell the bot and it does the mundane work for you. This is a much simpler and elementary exercise than the traditional way of apps and webpages.

Many in the technology sector believe that chatbots — computer programs designed to simulate conversation with human users, are the next big form of communication, and they are already more common than estimated. Wall Street Journal, CNN, Salesforce, Staples, Sephora and H&M are some of the giant companies to start developing or launching their own chatbots. The idea is creating a convenient process for users, who can access services directly via a messaging platform by chatting with a “bot”, like they would with a person, thus bypassing apps and search engines. Major communication channels like Slack, Facebook messenger, Telegram, Kik are encouraging developers to create and launch chatbots on their platforms.

“Bots are great at making sense out of lots of different types of information (schedules, meeting notes, documents, notifications from other business applications), and making all of that data more useful by allowing people to interact with it like they would in a conversation with a person,”

says April Underwood, Slack head of platform.

The potential for chatbots in the future is huge. According to Business Insider Intelligence, the big four messaging apps have overtaken the largest four social networks, so the messaging platforms have become the natural places for chatbots to reside. Its easy to see their use in the B2C sector, for people to use them in common tasks like planning a movie, ordering a pizza, or shopping online. But it is a whole different world for them in the B2B sector, and the potential is huge. Almost every sector opens up to limitless opportunities for bots to reside. For example, bots can be created to assist HR tasks like event management, employee hiring or employee engagement. They can be powered to charge businesses like automating common office tasks by Howdy, scheduling meetings and services at the best times using Meekan , liberate your data using just a command line by Birdly, or keep your team informed about metrics by Statsbot.

The process is exceptionally tidy and convenient. There’s nothing to download, no new registration required, and the chat interface that will be used is already familiar. Be it travel planning, ordering shoes, health or finance: They can assist you in whatever sector you want them to. And the rise of chatbots is guaranteed, because

• Once people get acquainted with them, and get used to the comfort and convenience, they’ll no doubt expect them to be available as a tool in new and unforeseen ways
• As the interest in them starts generating, more developers would come up with their own ideas and start creating their own chatbots
• Anything that can reduce workload, create a positive atmosphere, make work a little more enjoyable and also make the team productive is bound to become popular
• And because rather than implementing something complex in an app, it’s easy to see a day when you simply have a conversation with a bot.

“The chat user interface is what makes sense for a mobile-first world. You can be more specific and be quicker.”

Whether chatbots will become the best activity to use, or just a way to make using technology easier and more accessible, either way, chatbots are already making their mark in today’s world.

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