Marketers are doing the robot

Using bots to connect with consumers

“Can machines think?” Alan Turing asked the scientific community more than 60 years ago. And for today’s brand marketers the answer is more and more: yes.

With robots said to be coming for your job—Forrester estimates robots and artificial intelligence will replace 16% of American jobs (while simultaneously creating the equivalent of 9% of jobs for a net negative of 7%)—robots and artificial intelligence are no longer a threat found only in science fiction paperbacks. Instead, they’re an increasing presence in everyday lives with many Americans already on a first-name basis.

From Watson to Alexa and Siri, brands and marketers are turning to bots and artificial intelligence to provide a stronger connection with customers. And according to a recent study by HubSpot, consumers are ready for the robot (commerce) revolution.

Bots are Hot
This 2016 HubSpot survey provides an interesting snapshot of the current marketplace:

  • Only 11% of Americans are not interested in using artificial intelligence based tools

  • 63% of consumers are using artificial intelligence without knowing it

  • 74% have used voice search in the past month

  • 47% of consumers would buy a product from a chatbot, with 37% saying they’d buy a product from Facebook

  • 57% of consumers are interested in receiving information from bots while browsing a website

  • 40% reported no preference between a human interaction and artificial intelligence interaction as long as they are provided help quickly and easily

HubSpot concludes its piece with a nod to the 63% of consumers who use artificial intelligence without realizing it. They remind the reader that artificial intelligence is already controlling light bulbs, answering the doorbell, driving cars, correcting grammar and syntax, translating language in real time and even helping doctors cure disease.

Bot so Fast
But with every success, there’s a cautionary tale. It was Microsoft and its bot, Tay, that became Internet famous early last year—and not in a good way. Tay was programmed to interact with tweets but soon began mimicking other users and quickly was creating racist and insensitive remarks. Microsoft removed Tay and brought her back to the shop for virtual repairs.

“In the first 24 hours of coming online, a coordinated attack by a subset of people exploited a vulnerability in Tay,” Microsoft later explained on a company blog.

What’s Next?
Chatbots are riding the popularity of messaging apps, which according to CNet and BI Intelligence are now more popular than social media websites. 

“The upshot is that you can get the bot to look up information for you, or start a conversation with a company's chatbot much like you would with a Facebook friend,” CNet reported.

Twitter, which has come under scrutiny amid speculation about the percentage of bots on the platform, recently announced the ability for marketers to more easily interact with users and garner instant feedback through the use of its new customizable, Direct Messaging Card. 

Robots might not (yet) be driving cars on the public roads but they’re increasingly driving traffic and yielding results for brands and customers.

Sources

  • https://www.forrester.com/Robots+AI+Will+Replace+7+Of+US+Jobs+By+2025/-/E- PRE9246

  • https://research.hubspot.com/reports/artificial-intelligence- is-here?

  • https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/24/microsoft-silences- its-new- a-i- bot-tay-after- twitter-users- teach-it- racism/

  • https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2016/03/25/learning-tays- introduction/

  • https://www.cnet.com/news/youre-talking- to-ai- chatbots-and- its-just- the-beginning/

 

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