Tag: conversational ui

Shopify Makes It Simple To Set Up Shop On Facebook Messenger

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Shopify is expanding its partnership with Facebook to make it easier for brands and merchants to start selling directly on Facebook Messenger. A new “Shop Now” button will appear when a user starts chatting with any Facebook Business Page store if that Page uses Shopify’s Messenger sales channel. Tapping the button opens an in-chat portal that showcases the merchant’s product catalog. Users can complete purchases via Shopify’s checkout portal without leaving Messenger.

What Brands Should Do
Earlier this year, Shopify released an iOS keyboard app that enables merchants to sell via various messaging and social apps. As it continues to explore the ecommerce potential in conversational contexts to cater to changing consumer behavior on mobile and a shift in brand-customer interaction, brands and retailers need to take note and start experimenting with conversational commerce.

To learn more about how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, check out the Conversational Interfaces section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Header image courtesy of Shopify’s promotional video

Telegram Launches Chatbot-Powered, In-Chat Gaming Platform

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Popular messaging app Telegram is upgrading its chatbot platform to support bot-powered mini games as it aims to spice up its user experience and drive more engagement. Previously, developers could make text-based bot games for Telegram. The new API introduced on Monday allows for integrated HTML5-based games inside chat windows, complete with graphics and sound. The API also includes a running tally of your contacts’ scores, if they are playing the same game, to make the games competitive and engaging.

What Brands Should Do
This chatbot initiative opens doors for brands to devise bot-powered mini-games on Telegram to engage with consumers. With more and more smartphone users opting to communicate via messaging apps, it is time for brands to start exploring the new brand opportunities generated by chatbots to reach prospective customers that are becoming increasingly averse to conventional ads.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: TechCrunch

 

Kik Introduces Concierge Bots That Chime In To Help You Shop

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Kik users will soon find themselves talking to more than one chatbot in one conversation as the popular messaging app launches “concierge bots” today. Designed to be like a friend helping you shop for clothing or makeup, Kik users can enlist their help when they are talking to chatbots from brands such as H&M, Sephora, and Victoria’s Secret. The concierge bots will chime in and offer suggestions based on celebrity styles, the occasions that the user is shopping for, and the inventory of the brand whose chatbot started the conversation.

What Brands Need To Do
This interesting new feature is illustrative of the potential capability of conversational commerce. By bringing in another chatbot, Kik is making the in-chat shopping experience more social and closer to a real-world shopping experience. As consumers increasingly turn to messaging apps as their primary channels of communication, it is important that brands follow the customers to reach them. To learn more about what chatbots can do for brands, check out our Medium post on chatbots.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: AdWeek

Johnnie Walker Would Like To Chat With You About Whiskey

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Whisky brand Johnnie Walker is embracing conversational interfaces as it launches a branded Alexa Skill and a Facebook Messenger chatbot. The Alexa Skill aims to aid product discovery by recommending whisky blends based on user input about taste preference and budget. It can also dispense whisky-related trivia and cocktail recipes. The Messenger chatbot shares similar functions and adds ecommerce integrations with services such as ReserveBar, Cocktail Courier, and Drizly to drive sales.

What Brands Should Do
More and more brands are embracing messaging platforms and voice-based smart devices to engage with consumers through conversations. For instance, fashion brand Coach recently abandoned its two-year-old iOS app and shifted its focus to its “Coachmoji keyboard” to connect with mobile consumers. For additional insights on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Digiday

NYC AdWeek 2016: The Weather Company Gears Up For Watson-Powered Cognitive Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
The Weather Company, which was acquired by IBM last year, is tapping the cognitive computing power of IBM’s Watson for a cognitive ad product. The first brand to try out the new ad unit is Campbell’s, whose display ads will appear next week on The Weather Company’s website. Unlike typical display ads with personalized targeting, however, the Watson-powered cognitive ads will suggest recipes in real time based on location, what the weather is in that area, and which ingredients they want. Users will be able to tell Watson the ingredients by speaking into their microphones, thanks to integration with the “Chef Watson” API and a natural language classifier.

During its Advertising Week event in New York, The Weather Company also announced that Toyota will be the first auto brand to try out this ad product for a campaign set for the first quarter of 2017. In addition, GlaxoSmithKline is working with IBM on a flu-season campaign to promote Theraflu, in which Watson will answer frequently asked questions and analyze various flu symptoms.

What Brands Need To Do
Compared to existing display ad products, this Watson-powered cognitive ad product takes personalized ads to the next level as it adds natural-language interaction on top of contextual customization. If successfully executed, it should leverage Watson’s cognitive power to create one-to-one experiences for brands and consumers. Brands that want to get in on the next frontier of personalized targeting and contextual marketing should keep a close eye on this as it develops.

 

Source: AdWeek

TGI Fridays And Beverage Brand Dirty Lemon Embracing Conversational Commerce

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Two more brands have jumped on the bandwagon of conversational commerce to better serve their customers on messaging apps. Restaurant chain TGI Fridays recently struck a partnership with chatbot startup Conversable to roll out a service chatbot on Facebook Messenger that can help customers find the nearest TGI Fridays and take reservations at select locations, a first in the casual dining industry.

Upmarket beverage brand Dirty Lemon, on the other hand, is using an SMS-based system to power its new customer experience. The company worked with cloud communications startup Twilio to create the infrastructure for handling all customer interactions through texting. They are using Stripe to process payments. Customers can text the brand in natural language and see all their needs, from product inquiries to reordering, fulfilled without leaving the chat.

What Brands Need To Do
As we pointed out in our Medium post on branded chatbots, they serve as a great tool for handling basic customer service and goal-oriented tasks. The rise of conversational commerce points to changing consumer behavior on mobile and a shift in brand-customer interaction. A recent study found that most consumers now prefer to use messaging to interact with businesses rather than calling. Therefore, other brands should take note and start developing a strategy for conversational commerce.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building consumer-facing chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Sources: PR Newswire & Fast Company

 

Google Releases Allo Messaging App With Text-Based Digital Assistant

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today, Google officially released the Allo messaging app it announced at the I/O developer event in May. Besides standard messaging app features, the app, available on both Android and iOS, comes with an integrated digital assistant service that appears to be an extension of its existing “OK Google” voice search feature.

Users can summon the Google Assistant by starting a new message with “@google” in any chat and write out their commands or inquiries in natural language. The Google Assistant will surface the results right in the chat window for all parties involved to see. According to Google executive Nick Fox, the Google Assistant will also appear in Google’s Home – an Echo competitor expected to launch next month, in new Android smartphones, and in third-party devices such as wearables.

What Brands Should Do
This launch marks another push toward conversational media channels for which brands need to optimize their content and partnerships. While Google is still struggling to get into the mobile messaging app market, its decision to rebrand its “OK Google” service and integrate a digital assistant service into Allo is a significant move, signaling the search giant’s ambition in launching a service that rivals Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Microsoft’s Cortana. While it remains to be seen whether Allo will attract a meaningful audience for marketers, for now it presents a good channel for brands and media owners to test integrations with Google Assistant.

To learn more about how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, check out the Conversational Interfaces section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdAge

Domino’s And Burberry Launch Facebook Chatbots To Sell Directly To Customers

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Domino’s Pizza and Burberry both launched ecommerce-focused chatbots to sell directly to online customers via Facebook’s messaging app. Domino’s chatbot for Facebook Messenger, which was first launched a month ago in the U.K. and Ireland and officially rolled out to U.S. customers last Thursday, allows customers to chat with a bot to quickly repurchase their most recent order or the “Easy Order” saved in their Pizza Profile.

Burberry’s Messenger bot, on the other hand, engages users with design sketches and a mini maze game. Users who finish the maze will unlock access to a “Burberry show space,” where they will be able to order items that they fancy directly from the new line as they become available after Burberry’s London Fashion Week show on Monday, September 19.

What Brands Need To Do
Both examples are illustrative of the ecommerce potential that chatbots have in converting interested consumers. As consumers increasingly turn to messaging apps as their primary channels of communication, it is important that brands follow the customers to reach them. To learn more about what chatbots can do for brands, check out our Medium post on chatbots.

The Lab has extensive knowledge about building chatbots. If you’re interested in reaching your audience on messaging apps and better serving them with a chatbot, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) for more information or to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: PRNewswire & Glossy
Header image courtesy of Domino’s press release

Twitter Adds New Features For Better Customer Support

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Twitter has rolled out some new features to help brands provide better customer service. Now brands can indicate when their customer service account will be available and when customers can expect a response. Twitter also revamped the profile pages of those brand accounts to add an enlarged “Message” button, encouraging users to send their inquiries and complaints via Direct Message rather than tweeting them publicly. Several brands, including Delta, T-Mobile, and United, have activated the features on their accounts

What Brands Need To Do
According to a recent study published by Twilio, most consumers now prefer to use messaging to interact with businesses rather than calling. So it makes sense that Twitter is improving its customer support tools to appeal to the growing needs of brands and their customers. Last week, Twitter revamped Direct Messages to add some convenient features and make it more chat app-like, signaling its intention to expand its messaging service. As Twitter continues to make its platform more brand-friendly, we expect to see more brands utilize the tools to provide customer service.

To learn more about how brands can reach and engage with customers via conversational interfaces such as messaging apps, check out the first part of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Amazon Updates Echo Dot With Cheaper Price And Wider Availability

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon has refreshed its Echo Dot product with a cheaper price and wider availability as the ecommerce giant looks to push its digital assistant service Alexa into more homes. The updated Echo Dot is priced at just $49.99, down from $89.99 and it is now available to all U.S. consumers to purchase from Amazon’s website. Previously, Amazon limited Dot’s availability by only allowing users to order it via Alexa. Besides the U.S., Amazon will also release the full Echo lineup in the U.K. and Germany as well.

What Brands Should Do
On Wednesday morning, Amazon announced that the number of available Alexa Skills has grown by three times since June to over 3,000, which shows great interest from developers and brands as they race to conquer the era of voice-based brand-customer interactions. For additional insight on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: The Verge