Are chatbots our answer to everything in life?

There is no doubt that the next promising evolution will be brought by bots, but it could be sooner than expected. Today, leading companies have dived into the chatbot space, and brands are ensuring they aren’t late to the party. You can read what companies are up to here . Startups like  Jugnoo  and also newer like Yellow Messenger have started implementing bots. Satya Nadella has already declared bots are new apps, and has been adding timely updates to make this possible in the future.

There’s been a gradual shift in the way we use apps, and some part of it went unnoticed, arguably called the era of messaging platforms wherein we preferred a single platform to communicate and also share images, videos and other content, over multiple apps. The popularity of these messaging apps is playing a huge role in this transformation. We have 1.4 billion monthly users on messaging platforms, which means more registered users and higher engagement compared to the top four social networks, points out VentureBeat . 80 percent of US teens are using chatbots, already. Brands have already begun focusing on engaging with teens and millennials, known to decide the trends, and who have ‘wholeheartedly’ jumped into the chatbot game.

Interestingly, the early bots show a similar pattern as we saw in the first wave of iOS apps. Yes, they are built for fun and entertainment. But, we all know, how this will eventually transform. Today, you don’t reach out to an app just for simply engaging in silly yet entertaining games. On the other hand, bot developers have learnt how not to be slowed down. Whether it’s Facebook Messenger or Kik, the messaging platforms have opened their gateway to bots. Facebook is believed to have over 10,000 chatbots. Teenage and millennial catering brands have dived in too, be it H&M, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Wirkn Jobs.

Just like apps, there will be some learning, losing and winning here. AI-based bots can be a lot of smarter that you think. We can expect to look at larger problems, especially related to customer support or how brands interact with customers. Moreover, they are easier to deploy as well as maintain compared to apps.

So, we wouldn’t be surprised if soon we’d be saying: ’there is a bot for that’.