Over the past year, bots seem to have gained immense popularity amongst big tech companies. Google, Facebook, Microsoft and most recently Apple have all released their plans for a bot-filled future. But why? What is the big deal and more importantly why should you use them? We give you five good reasons:
Higher User Engagement
Bots are essentially computers that talk back to the user. As such they give users an experience that is not passive. Bots make users feel like they are working with an assistant to achieve their ends rather than manipulating a computer into submission. Thus, users are more likely to find exactly what they want and are given a far better user experience. What brings users back to your platform if not good UX?
Mobile Optimised Right Out Of The Box
For mobile-first markets like India, engaging users on mobile requires the development and iteration of mobile optimised UI’s on apps and websites. Bots, however, require none of this effort. Chat has been used for years on mobile and it is a tried and tested interface that works and is easy to implement.
No Downloads Required
In an increasingly crowded app market, it is hard to get new users to try your product let alone stick on to it. Even once a user has been on-boarded, there is a high chance that they will be forced to uninstall your app at some point because of storage space limitations. Bots completely circumvent this problem. Since bots live in a browser or a messenger, users can easily try out new services without the hassle of using a website or an app.
The WhatsApp effect
Your users are ready for chat. Because of the popularity of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger, your consumers feel at home with chat. As such there will be no friction associated with a transition away from apps and websites.
Minimal Cost, Maximum Returns
The best part about the bot phenomenon is that all of the above benefits come cheap.
Bot platforms have done most of the legwork in creating the app infrastructure for you so you don’t need to invest time and money into development. Maintenance is minimal. Most important, there is no labour-intensive backend operation because the whole process is automated. Offering users a personal and engaging experience has never been this cheap.
