2016 was the year we started to hear chatbots everywhere. Tech giants were almost in a race to spotlight their strategies and plans one by one. Brands including industry leaders were in a rush to add these interactive engagement tools in their marketing plans. Marketing world witnessed almost a craze on this new channel keeping it a hot topic every day.

 

In 2017, the storm did not calm down. Facebook announced new features for bots underlining the continuation of the focus and the investment. Facebook Messenger hit 100,000 bots in April 2017, showing the interest of the business world kept enlarging. (In September 2016, it was only 33,000).

 

In 2018 even though Facebook had to investigate and rearrange its overall privacy regulations due to Cambridge Analytica data scandal, the social media giant continued to support bots. During this painful period, the company stopped the release of bots only for a short period of time.

 

Under the light of performances up to now and continuing investments, we can clearly state that chatbots will be here to stay and they will be playing more critical roles in the digital marketing scene.

 

Here are some to mention enlightening the current situation and summarizing expectations for the near future:

  • CONVRG ran a survey via a chatbot experience giving away coupons. The response rate tripled compared to the traditional email survey.1
  • For Adidas women chatbot, in the first two weeks, 2,000 people signed up to participate, with repeat use at 80%. Retention after week one was 60%, which the brand claims far better compared to an app. 2
  • Thousands of people have used Just Eat’s chatbot since the launch in September. The average user spent 1.53 minutes interacting with the bot. 13.5% are repeat users – and improved awareness of Just Eat’s 27,600 partner restaurants. Data shows the chatbot drove a 266% higher conversion rate than interacting with an average social ad in November 2016. 3
  • Tec inStore launched a customer service chatbot. After one month of usage, chatbot had an 80% success rate. More than 1500 people have requested help from the chatbot. It reduced requests to customer support. Chatbot received more than 1000 “Thank You” messages of 10000 total messages. 4
  • Original research from DigitasLBi conducted by Harris Poll showed that more than 1 in 3 Americans (37%) would be willing to make a purchase through a chatbot. Consumers would spend an average of $55.80 per purchase. 5
  • The number of countries that Facebook messengers are using chatbots in reached 200. 6
  • Average time saving per chatbot inquiry when compared with traditional call centers is 4+ minutes in chatbots for the banking & healthcare sectors. By 2022 $8 billion in cost savings is expected. 7
  • According to the Business Insider report, 80% of businesses want chatbots by 2020. 8
  • According to Gartner chatbots will power 85% of all customer service interactions by the year 2020. The average person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse. 9

Numbers imply that chatbots will continue creating more profitability for the business world. With news skills on board, they will be delivering more efficiency for customer engagement.

If you want to add a chatbot to your marketing mix, we are here to help you. Do not hesitate to contact us to have your chatbot which will best fit your business needs.

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Sources:

1) https://chatbotsmagazine.com/the-state-of-chatbot-commerce-in-2017-78763f48227b
2) https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/05/18/how-adidas-just-eat-and-htc-are-using-chatbots/
3) https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/05/18/how-adidas-just-eat-and-htc-are-using-chatbots/
4) https://chatbotnewsdaily.com/5-industries-that-benefit-from-chatbots-already-b1cee62e7dad
5) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/advertising-week/chatbots-a-guide-for-bran_b_13629352.html
6) http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/facebook-messenger-statistics/
7) https://www.juniperresearch.com/resources/infographics/chatbots-infographic-key-statistics-2017
8) http://www.businessinsider.com/80-of-businesses-want-chatbots-by-2020-2016-12
9) https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2017/05/15/ai-by-the-numbers-33-facts-and-forecasts-about-chatbots-and-voice-assistants/3/#ab845fb3efdf