Are bots the new apps ?
Being in my late twenties, I no longer consider myself part of the young generation and yet still I am amazed how much my conversational behavior has shift around from phoning to mostly WhatApp and Facebook Messenger. There has been a ridiculous increase in the chat applications area for the past 5 years. It started in Asia and it spread out all around the world.
The conversational user interfaces have become a trend for many apps like Quartz News (for today’s important headlines), Lark (as a weight
loss coach), GoButler (as your flight assistant) or Jam (dedicated to French students) in many ways. Even though there have been plenty of SMS and email based services in the past, the main difference is the two-way conversation. They are also known as bot platforms and figuring out whether a conversational service is provided by a human, bot, or some combination thereof is none of my real interest here. I guess we could define boots as automated accounts from third partners like publishers and brands aiming at serving users news, entertainment and other information inside the chat experience.
Historically speaking, I believe that the Uber’s integration into Facebook Messenger earlier in 2015 was the public discovery of this new dominant trend of consumer computing.
The fact is that I have been playing extensively with some of them for the past weeks and it made me think about the future of the web.
Why are CUIs taking off right now?
I guess text conversations are just a much more natural way of interacting than the traditional web interfaces and users are vouching for it. That would be the short answer but I have been scratching the surface for something more advanced. It seems that the leaders of that market (Facebook, Apple, Google, Atlassian, Kik or Slack) are transforming how messaging works. They go beyond sending simple text messages. They are having chat evolving into a whole tech platform almost like an operating system, where others can plug their own apps in and create entirely new functions.
Just last week, I was at a 6 nations rugby game. I was running late for the game, so I went straight to my seat. But when I got there, I realized I was the only one of my friends without a beer. So, with no beer guy in sight, I turned back to go get one. After 10 minutes of waiting in line, I finally got back to my seat. I had missed two tries.
Well the good news is that from next year, this will not happen again. The stadium is developing an app, from which anyone could order a beer. It will be great. Or will it? Let’s imagine how it will be for a second. I seat down, I see a sticker on the back of the chair in front of me that said, “Want a beer? Download our app!” Sounds great! I’d unlock my phone, go to the App Store, search for the app, put in my password, wait for it to download, create an account, enter my credit card details, figure out where in the app I actually order from, figure out how to input how many beers I want and of what type, enter my seat number, and then finally my beer would be on its way.
Let’s recap:
App store > Search > Login > Download > Account creation > Credit card details > Browsing > 2 > Heineken > Validate payment > Done.
Actually, I would have been better off just waiting in line.
It has been said that the app stores have became overcrowded. The GAFA apps are trusting the home screen of your smartphone, making some developers wondering if coding yet an other app makes any sense. I tend to believe that they are right. Let’s take the shopping category for example. There is not one single international brand that has not spend tens of thousands (if not more) for developing its own app: apps to order train tickets at stations; apps to order food at restaurants; and apps to order movie tickets at theaters. Everyone wants you to just “download our app!”. But how many people actually use them? My guess: not a lot. In my opinion the app distribution model is broken. Let’s face it: a lot of apps just don’t make sense. Many apps only need to be used irregularly, perhaps once or twice a year. It all comes down to: Do I really need an app for ordering a beer?
How could we make this whole experience much simpler and better?
Back to our rugby game. What if I’d sit down and see a similar sticker: “Want a beer? Chat with us!” with a chat code beside it. I’d unlock my phone, open my chat app, and scan the code. Instantly, I’d be chatting with the stadium bot, and it’d ask me how many beers I wanted: “1, 2, 3, or 4.” It’d ask me what type: “Bud, Coors, or Corona.” And then it’d ask me how I wanted to pay: Credit card already on file (**** 0345), or a new card.
Let’s recap:
Chat app > Scan > 2 > Heineken > Validate payment > Done.
No new app to download, no new account to create, and, most importantly, no new user interface to figure out. Just natural flow. Needless to add that the investment and maintenance costs for our dear stadium would shrink making it a win win configuration.
So is it really that simple? I just text and it arrives? Remember the first time you pushed a button and 3 minutes later an Uber car appeared? Well it is pretty much the same except now you do not even need a new app.
Until recently, I was still not sure if bots in conversational app were the next big thing or just the latest fashion trend, but now I feel we might be entering the bots era. Do not take me wrong, for some complex purchases a traditional web interfaces are still more suitable but my beer case was a valid example for straightforward purchases. In many cases, bots are simply more convenient and lighter for users, while providing a more engaging experience.
Even if the rules of the game and operations are still to be defined, I believe there are many developments to come in this area, creating giant opportunities for consumers, developers, and businesses. I would not be surprise viewing more VCs, such as Phil Libin, investing in this area. For now, the identified leaders of this space are Kik, WeChat, Line, Facebook, Slack, and Telegram. They all have different approaches but they are all bidding high on the AI driven bots. For me, it really feels like we are stepping into a new area of the tech possibilities, just like with the first iPhone back in 2007.
