Bots
The rise of interactive texting didn’t happen overnight, but the current pace of the industry’s adoption of SMS as the next communications channel is staggering. From social media chat bots to interactive scripted experiences, Bots are driving the interactive texting revolution. The days when consumers would wait days for a reply or spend hours rifling through pages of help articles on your site are quickly coming to an evolutionary milestone near you.
No longer the domain of spammers and spies, today’s Bots are even better suited to revenue generating opportunities. Why? They’re always down to chat. Messenger provider Kik has a leg up on Facebook, however, as the company has already released its own Bot Shop. Kik’s Bot Shop currently offers bots across four categories: news and noteworthy, entertainment, lifestyle and games. Kik is already offering a handful of high-profile branded bots from the Weather Channel, Sephora, H&M and Vine.
Messengers are the new browsers and bots are the new websites
-Kik‘s Mike Roberts explained in a recent article on The Next Web
Product ordering: Domino’s is using text messaging to streamline the ordering process. First, customers register online and set up an account with their credit card information. Then, all they have to do is text a pizza emoticon to Domino’s. The messenger bot receives, confirms and processes the order for the customer. Expect more companies to move forward with this type of ordering system in the near future.
Message transfers: Windows 10 users can now take advantage of Microsoft’s Cortana bot to send and receive text messages from their computers. End users simply type or speak the word “text” into their PC to get the process started. Cortana transmits the message to the user’s mobile device and sends it to the recipient over a mobile network.
Customer service: United Airlines offers a “Virtual Expert,” Alex—an automated bot designed to help ensure a positive customer experience. Originally a product of Continental, Alex was transferred to United Airlines after the two companies merged in 2011. Alex provides a quick and easy way for customers to get answers to service-related questions, thus reducing incoming call volumes for the airline’s contact centers.
General Web Queries: Apple’s Siri showed us the power of an application that can quickly comb the Web and produce answers to basic questions. Now, expect to see more niche, text-based information services like Siri spring up. Imagine, for instance, a bot that can provide immediate information about the stock market, local traffic or sporting events. This type of service could replace the task of manually heading to Google and typing in search queries—and searching through websites—to find information.
There is virtually limitless potential in what you can accomplish with an automated messenger service. The only question is…how do you do it?
Here’s the good news: You don’t need to put the task on your developers. TSG’s KISST Platform is an enterprise-ready solution for Interactive Texting. Create custom keyword based responses and manage your conversations with a simple webapp or even via SMS!